Friday, April 5
Lynchburg, Va.
6:00 PM ET
Liberty University
20-16, 10-3
0
vs
1
Western Kentucky
24-11-1, 10-3
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2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Western Kentucky
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
Liberty
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
WKU Edges Liberty 1-0 in PItchers' Duel
4/5/2024 8:58:00 PM | Softball
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Western Kentucky senior Katie Gardner tossed a one-hit shutout and the Hilltoppers scored one unearned run, edging Liberty 1-0 on Friday at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium.
With the win, the Hilltoppers (24-11-1) move into a tie with Liberty (20-16) atop Conference USA standings at 10-3 in league play.
Scoring Summary
WKU – 2nd INNING – Sharpe flies out to right field, sacrifice fly, Sales scores, 1-0
Turning Point
Beyond the Box Score
Up Next
Game two of this weekend's series is set for 2 p.m. tomorrow at Liberty Softball Stadium.
With the win, the Hilltoppers (24-11-1) move into a tie with Liberty (20-16) atop Conference USA standings at 10-3 in league play.
Scoring Summary
WKU – 2nd INNING – Sharpe flies out to right field, sacrifice fly, Sales scores, 1-0
Turning Point
- WKU manufactured the game's only run in the second inning, as Cheyanne Sales led off with a single. A sacrifice bunt sent her to second before Sales moved to third on a passed ball. Morgan Sharpe hit a sacrifice fly to score Sales for a 1-0 lead.
- Gardner retired the first 15 batters in a row, taking a perfect game into the sixth inning. Hailey Deter then pinch hit and drew a leadoff walk. Raigan Barrett bunted for a hit with one out before a ground out sent runners to second and third. Gardner walked Roupe to load the bases for Mary Claire Wilson. The senior center fielder lined one into right center, but Hilltopper right fielder Sophie Weber snared it to keep the shutout alive.
- Western Kentucky outhit Liberty 2-1 in the game. The Lady Flames turned one double play. The Hilltoppers left four runners on base, while Liberty stranded three.
- Gardner (10-6) tossed her fifth shutout of the season, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out six.
- Kaylan Yoder (8-6) drew the tough-luck loss, yielding one unearned run on two hits, walking two, hitting two and striking out seven.
- Sales reached base all three times she got up, going 2-for-2 with a walk and one run scored. Morgan Sharpe's sacrifice fly drove in the game's only run.
Beyond the Box Score
- Western Kentucky leads the all-time series 4-0 against Liberty in softball.
- Current Liberty Head Coach Dot Richardson's first game as head coach was Feb. 7, 2014 against Western Kentucky in Fort Myers, Fla. That was the most recent meeting between these two teams before today.
- Yoder had not allowed a run in her last 18 1/3 innings pitched prior to giving up a run in the second inning tonight. Her shutout streak was the second longest by a Liberty freshman in program history, with the longest being 19 innings by Sarah Swor in 2004.
- Yoder has started the series opener in all five of Liberty's Conference USA series, going 4-1 with a 0.20 ERA, allowing just one earned run while striking out 36 batters in 35 innings pitched over that span.
- KK Madrey (nine games) and Sierra Kersten (seven) both saw extended hitting streaks end. Megan Fortner had reached base safely in 10 straight games prior to tonight.
- Liberty is now 5-3 in one-run games this year.
- Today marked the fewest combined hits in a Liberty softball game this season, three. Prior to today, the fewest hits in a Liberty game was four, as both teams had two hits in a 1-0 Louisiana win over the Lady Flames on March 2. That game was also started by Yoder and was the only other 1-0 loss for the Lady Flames so far in 2024.
- Liberty has held its opponent to one run or fewer in 12 out of 15 home games this season.
Up Next
Game two of this weekend's series is set for 2 p.m. tomorrow at Liberty Softball Stadium.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Katie Gardner (10-6)
L: Yoder, Kaylan (8-6)
Batting:
RBI: Morgan Sharpe 1
SH: Annie White 2
SF: Morgan Sharpe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cheyanne Sales 1
HBP: Brylee Hage 1 ; Sophie Weber 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
P/OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
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