Friday, February 23
Lynchburg, Va.
12:00 PM ET
Liberty University
3-7
4
vs
0
Saint Francis (Pa.)
9-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Saint Francis
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
Liberty
1
2
0
0
0
1
X
4
6
1
Liberty Downs Saint Francis, Penn State on Home-Opening Day
2/23/2024 7:32:00 PM | Softball
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Liberty opened its 2024 home schedule with a 4-0 win over Saint Francis and a 9-1, five-inning triumph over Penn State, Friday at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium.
The Lady Flames (4-7) won both of their games on the opening day of the Liberty Softball Classic. Saint Francis (9-3) fell to both Penn State and Liberty today, while the Lady Flames knocked the Nittany Lions (8-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Tomorrow's schedule will have a slight change. The Lady Flames will now take on Saint Francis at 10 a,m., before facing Penn at 2:30 p.m.
Liberty 4, Saint Francis 0
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 1st INNING – Fortner reaches on FC, Roupe out at second, Wilson scores on throwing error, 1-0
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Roberts doubles to left center, Craine scores, 2-0
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Barrett doubles to left center, Roberts scores, 3-0
Liberty – 6th INNING – Craine flies out to center, sacrifice fly, Heidorn scores, 4-0
Turning Point
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 1st INNING – Roupe doubles to left center, Wilson scores, 1-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – Kersten singles to right, Fortner advances, Roupe scores, 2-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – Craine sacrifice fly, Fortner scores, 3-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – Roberts homers to right, Kersten scores, 5-0
Penn State – 2nd INNING – Gordon singles down right field line, Garcia scores, 5-1
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Fortner singles, Roupe advances, Wilson sores, 6-1
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Kersten homers to left center, Fortner and Roupe score, 9-1
Turning Point
The Lady Flames are scheduled to take on Saint Francis at 10 a.m. tomorrow, followed by a 2:30 p.m. game against Penn on day two of the Liberty Softball Classic.
The Lady Flames (4-7) won both of their games on the opening day of the Liberty Softball Classic. Saint Francis (9-3) fell to both Penn State and Liberty today, while the Lady Flames knocked the Nittany Lions (8-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Tomorrow's schedule will have a slight change. The Lady Flames will now take on Saint Francis at 10 a,m., before facing Penn at 2:30 p.m.
Liberty 4, Saint Francis 0
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 1st INNING – Fortner reaches on FC, Roupe out at second, Wilson scores on throwing error, 1-0
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Roberts doubles to left center, Craine scores, 2-0
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Barrett doubles to left center, Roberts scores, 3-0
Liberty – 6th INNING – Craine flies out to center, sacrifice fly, Heidorn scores, 4-0
Turning Point
- Liberty built a 3-0 lead after two innings, scoring an unearned run in the first before Brooke Roberts and Raigan Barrett hit back-to-back RBI doubles in the second.
- Elena Escobar carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before allowing a two-out single to Ashley Orischak.
- Liberty outhit SFU 6-2 for the game, as both teams committed one error. The Red Flash left five runners on base, compared to three stranded for the Lady Flames.
- Liberty's Elena Escobar (3-0) tossed a two-hit shutout, allowing two walks while setting a new career high with 10 strikeouts. Liberty is 3-0 in games in which Escobar starts this season.
- Rachel Marsden (4-2) drew the loss, allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits, walking one and striking out four.
- Liberty had six different batters get one hit each, including four doubles (Megan Fortner, Rachel Craine, Brooke Roberts, Raigan Barrett).
- Saint Francis had won the previous four meetings against Liberty and the Red Flash leads the Lady Flames 5-2 in the all-time series. Today was Liberty's first win over SFU since a 13-0 victory on March 7, 1998.
- Liberty has won its home opener all 10 years of Liberty Softball Stadium history, including five times via run rule.
- Escobar stuck out three batters in both the second and fifth innings. She joins Kaylan Yoder (Feb. 9 vs. Oregon) and Paige Bachman (Feb. 14 at UCF) as Lady Flames with a three-strikeout inning this season.
- Escobar's 10 strikeouts were the most by a Lady Flame since Paige Bachman struck out 12 batters against Kennesaw State on April 1, 2023.
- Craine is now tied with Deidra See (2016-19) and Caroline Hudson (2020-23) for fifth place in program history with seven career sacrifice flies.
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 1st INNING – Roupe doubles to left center, Wilson scores, 1-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – Kersten singles to right, Fortner advances, Roupe scores, 2-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – Craine sacrifice fly, Fortner scores, 3-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – Roberts homers to right, Kersten scores, 5-0
Penn State – 2nd INNING – Gordon singles down right field line, Garcia scores, 5-1
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Fortner singles, Roupe advances, Wilson sores, 6-1
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Kersten homers to left center, Fortner and Roupe score, 9-1
Turning Point
- Liberty jumped out to a 5-0 lead with a five-run first inning, capped by Brooke Roberts' two-run homer.
- The Lady Flames removed all doubt in the second, as an RBI single from Megan Fortner and a three-run blast by Sierra Kersten pushed Liberty's lead to 9-1.
- Liberty outhit Penn State 8-2, with the Nittany Lions committing the game's lone error. Both teams left three runners on base. Each of Liberty's first four batters in the lineup scored twice each.
- Liberty's Kaylan Yoder (1-2) earned her first collegiate victory, allowing one run on two hits, walking one and fanning a career-high seven batters.
- Paige Maynard (1-1) drew the loss, allowing four runs on four hits in 2/3 innings pitched as the starter.
- Sierra Kersten batted 2-for-2 with a homer, four RBI and two runs scored, while Rachel Roupe (double) and Megan Fortner both went 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored. Brooke Roberts hit her first homer as a Lady Flame.
- Maddie Gordon went 2-for-2 with one RBI for Penn State.
- Liberty earned its first-ever win over Penn State in softball. The Nittany Lions had won each of the first three meetings.
- Penn State was ranked No. 25 in Monday's Softball America Top 25. Liberty is now 1-2 this season against Top 25 opponents, 22-113 all-time and 16-73 under current Head Coach Dot Richardson.
- Roupe has reached base safely in all 11 games this season, extending her games reached base streak to 14, dating back to last season.
- Roberts, who hit a program career-record 33 homers in two seasons at College of Central Florida, hit her first homer for Liberty today.
- Kersten tied her career high with four RBI, recording her first four-RBI game as a Lady Flame.
- Liberty held both of its opponents to just two hits today, outscoring SFU and Penn State by a combined 13-1.
The Lady Flames are scheduled to take on Saint Francis at 10 a.m. tomorrow, followed by a 2:30 p.m. game against Penn on day two of the Liberty Softball Classic.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Escobar, Elena (3-0)
L: MARSDEN, Rachel (4-2)
Batting:
2B: ULAM, Olivia 1
Batting:
2B: Fortner, Megan 1 ; Craine, Rachel 1 ; Roberts, Brooke 1 ; Barrett, Raigan 1
RBI: Craine, Rachel 1 ; Roberts, Brooke 1 ; Barrett, Raigan 1
SF: Craine, Rachel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wilson, Mary Claire 1 ; Heidorn, Lilly 1 ; Craine, Rachel 1 ; Roberts, Brooke 1
SB: Tuck, Maddy 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
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