Wednesday, March 19
Chapel Hill, NC
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
24-6
3
at
1
North Carolina
23-7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Liberty
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
3
7
0
North Carolina
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
3
0
No. 21 Liberty Outlasts UNC 3-1
3/19/2025 9:44:00 PM | Softball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No. 21 Liberty earned a 3-1 win over North Carolina on Wednesday at Anderson Softball Stadium.
Both teams came into the day with identical 23-6 records. The Lady Flames improve to 24-6 on the season, while the Tar Heels fall to 23-7.
Liberty 3, UNC 1
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Roberts sacrifice fly to center, McManus scores, 1-0
UNC – 2nd INNING – Myrtle homers to center, 1-1
Liberty – 3rd INNING – Woodard grounds out, Whatley advances, Craine scores, 2-1
Liberty – 7th INNING – Craine homers to center, 3-1
Turning Point
Liberty will wrap up its nine-game road trip with a three-game set at Jacksonville State, Friday through Sunday.
Both teams came into the day with identical 23-6 records. The Lady Flames improve to 24-6 on the season, while the Tar Heels fall to 23-7.
Liberty 3, UNC 1
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Roberts sacrifice fly to center, McManus scores, 1-0
UNC – 2nd INNING – Myrtle homers to center, 1-1
Liberty – 3rd INNING – Woodard grounds out, Whatley advances, Craine scores, 2-1
Liberty – 7th INNING – Craine homers to center, 3-1
Turning Point
- The Lady Flames went ahead 2-1 with a third-inning run. Rachel Craine walked and Savanah Whatley doubled. Savannah Woodard then put Liberty ahead 2-1 with an RBI groundout.
- UNC threatened in the bottom of the fifth, with runners on second and third with one out. Elena Escobar got out of the jam with a strikeout and groundout.
- Craine homered in the seventh for an insurance run.
- The Lady Flames outhit the Tar Heels 7-3 for the game. Both teams left four runners on base. North Carolina came into the game ranked ninth nationally with a .362 team batting average.
- Escobar (10-1) earned the win, allowing one run on three hits, walking one and fanning eight.
- Kenna Raye Dark (10-4) allowed three runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out seven.
- Savanah Whatley went 3-for-3 with a double, while Craine batted 1-for-2 with a homer, one RBI and two runs scored.
- UNC's Carlie Myrtle batted 1-for-3 with a homer, one RBI and one run scored.
- North Carolina leads the all-time series in softball against Liberty, 14-4. The road team has won each of the last four meetings, beginning in 2022.
- At 24-6, Liberty is off to its best 30-game start to a season in program history. Prior to this year, the 1996 team's 23-7 start was its best record through 30 games.
- UNC is 18-2 at home this season, with its only two losses being against Michigan and Liberty.
- Liberty was ranked No. 21 in both the Softball America and D1Softball Top 25 Polls this week.
- Whatley recorded her first career three-hit game.
Liberty will wrap up its nine-game road trip with a three-game set at Jacksonville State, Friday through Sunday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Escobar, Elena (10-2)
L: Kenna Raye Dark (10-4)
Batting:
2B: McManus, Brynn 1 ; Whatley, Savanah 2
HR: Craine, Rachel 1
RBI: Woodard, Savannah 1 ; Roberts, Brooke 1 ; Craine, Rachel 1
SH: Madrey, KK 1
SF: Roberts, Brooke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McManus, Brynn 1 ; Craine, Rachel 2
Batting:
2B: Kiannah Pierce 1
HR: Carlie Myrtle 1
RBI: Carlie Myrtle 1
SH: Rayna Blackwell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Carlie Myrtle 1
SB: Lexie Roberts 1 ; Reece Outlaw 1
HBP: Shelby Barbee 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
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INF
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