Saturday, April 6
Lynchburg, Va.
2:00 PM ET
Liberty University
21-16, 11-3
9
vs
1
Western Kentucky
24-12-1, 10-4
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Western Kentucky
0
1
0
0
0
1
4
3
Liberty
0
0
3
6
X
9
8
0
Lady Flames Run Away from Hilltoppers for 9-1 Win
4/6/2024 4:24:00 PM | Softball
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Liberty used a six-run fourth inning to break open a close game and seal a five-inning, 9-1 win over Western Kentucky, Saturday at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium.
The Lady Flames (21-16, 11-3 CUSA) move one game ahead of WKU (24-12-1, 10-4) atop Conference USA standings. Liberty evens this weekend's series at one game apiece, with the rubber match set for noon tomorrow.
Scoring Summary
WKU – 2nd INNING – Weber doubles to right, Drinnon advances, Sharpe scores, 1-0
Liberty – 3rd INNING – Deter homers to center, Roupe and Byrum score, 3-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Madrey bunts for single, advances on error, Barrett scores, 4-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Byrum reaches on fielder's choice, sacrifice bunt, Madrey scores, 5-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Roupe doubles, advances on throw, Heidorn and Byrum score, 7-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Fortner reaches on error, Deter advances, Wilson scores, 8-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Barrett singles to left, Fortner advances, Norris scores.
Turning Point
The Lady Flames and Hilltoppers wrap up this weekend's series tomorrow at noon.
The Lady Flames (21-16, 11-3 CUSA) move one game ahead of WKU (24-12-1, 10-4) atop Conference USA standings. Liberty evens this weekend's series at one game apiece, with the rubber match set for noon tomorrow.
Scoring Summary
WKU – 2nd INNING – Weber doubles to right, Drinnon advances, Sharpe scores, 1-0
Liberty – 3rd INNING – Deter homers to center, Roupe and Byrum score, 3-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Madrey bunts for single, advances on error, Barrett scores, 4-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Byrum reaches on fielder's choice, sacrifice bunt, Madrey scores, 5-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Roupe doubles, advances on throw, Heidorn and Byrum score, 7-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Fortner reaches on error, Deter advances, Wilson scores, 8-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Barrett singles to left, Fortner advances, Norris scores.
Turning Point
- Liberty trailed 1-0 with two outs and two on in the third inning and the Lady Flames had not scored at all in the first 9 2/3 innings of the series. Hailey Deter then launched a three-run homer, putting the Lady Flames ahead 3-1.
- The Lady Flames removed all doubt in the fourth, scoring six runs on six hits while taking advantage of two WKU errors.
- Liberty outhit WKU 8-4 for the game. The Hilltoppers left seven runners on base, while the Lady Flames stranded four.
- Elena Escobar (5-2) earned the win, allowing one hit in two scoreless innings of relief while also striking out two. Liberty starter Katie Love yielded one run on three hits in two innings, walking two and fanning one. Paige Bachman pitched an inning of relief, walking two and fanning one.
- WKU's Rylan Smith (9-5) drew the loss, allowing six runs on four hits, walking three and striking out four in 3 1/3 innings. Kelsie Houchens gave up three runs, one earned, on four hits, allowing one walk in 2/3 of an inning.
- Hailey Deter batted 1-for-2 with a walk, homer, three RBI and one run scored for Liberty. Raigan Barrett went 2-for-2 with one walk, one RBI and one run scored, while KK Madrey batted 2-for-3 with one run. Rachel Roupe went 1-for-2 with her team-leading 13th double, two RBI and one run.
- For WKU, Brylee Hege went 1-for-1 with two walks. Morgan Sharpe and Sophie Weber both batted 1-for-2, while Weber recorded a double and one RBI.
- Western Kentucky now leads the all-time series 4-1 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 yesterday.
- Liberty has held its opponent to one run or fewer in 13 out of 16 home games this season.
- Liberty's six-run fourth inning was its highest scoring inning of the season so far.
- This is the first run-rule victory in Conference USA play for the Lady Flames. All three of Liberty's run-rule wins this year have come at home (also Feb. 23 vs. Penn State, Feb. 25 vs. Morgan State).
- Roupe needs one more run scored to become the 24th player in program history to score 100 or more career runs.
- JaMaya Byrum tied her career high with two runs scored, also scoring twice in a 7-1 win over Louisiana on March 3.
- KK Madrey posted her eighth two-hit game of the season, while Raigan Barrett had two hits in a game for the fifth time this season and eighth for her career.
The Lady Flames and Hilltoppers wrap up this weekend's series tomorrow at noon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Escobar, Elena (5-2)
L: Rylan Smith (9-5)
Batting:
2B: Sophie Weber 1
RBI: Sophie Weber 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Morgan Sharpe 1
SB: TJ Webster 1
Batting:
2B: Roupe, Rachel 1
HR: Deter, Hailey 1
RBI: Roupe, Rachel 2 ; Deter, Hailey 3 ; Barrett, Raigan 1 ; Byrum, JaMaya 1
SH: Byrum, JaMaya 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Heidorn, Lilly 1 ; Roupe, Rachel 1 ; Wilson, Mary Claire 1 ; Deter, Hailey 1 ; Norris, Aubry 1 ; Barrett, Raigan 1 ; Madrey, KK 1 ; Byrum, JaMaya 2
CS: Roupe, Rachel 1
PO: Roupe, Rachel 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
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