Friday, March 7
Lynchburg, Va.
4:00 PM ET
Liberty University
9-4
9
vs
5
Central Michigan
2-11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Central Michigan
0
3
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
5
7
1
Liberty
0
0
0
0
5
2
0
2
X
9
13
1
Liberty Powers Central Michigan 9-5 in Series Opener
3/7/2025 9:06:00 PM | Baseball
LYNCHBURG, VA. – Catcher Tucker Moore belted a grand slam and first baseman Riley DeCandido hit a home run and had five RBI as the Liberty Flames rallied to top the Central Michigan Chippewas 9-5 Friday afternoon at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
Trailing 3-0 in the fifth inning, the Flames took the lead with five runs, highlighted by Moore's grand slam, his second home run of the season.
DeCandido added three hits, knocking in a career-high five runs for Liberty. He capped his day with a blast over the right field wall in the bottom of the eighth, his first career home run, for the final score of 9-5.
Liberty third baseman Jaxon Sorenson joined DeCandido with three hits in the contest, scoring two runs.
The Flames collect back-to-back wins and move to 9-4 on the year. The Chippewas fall to 2-11.
Box Score Highlights
Records: Central Michigan (2-11); Liberty (9-4)
Location: Lynchburg, Va. (Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium)
WP: Joseph Webb (1-0) | LP: Alejandro Espinoza (0-4)
Scoring Summary
2nd – CMU – Knowlton singles, Campanale and Verburg score, 2-0
2nd – CMU – Campau flies out, Smith scores, 3-0
5th – LIBERTY – DeCandido singles, Sorenson scores, 3-1
5th – LIBERTY – Moore homers, DeCandido, Scilley and Troyer score, 5-3
6th – CMU – Murphy singles, Smith scores, 5-4
6th – LIBERTY – DeCandido singles, Barone and Sorenson score, 7-4
8th – CMU – Ball flies out, Verburg scores, 7-5
8th – LIBERTY – DeCandido homers, Scilley scores, 9-5
Notable Numbers
- Liberty outhit Central Michigan, 13-7, in the contest. Each team committed one error.
- The Flames left 12 men on base. The Chippewas left eight.
- Left fielder Nick Barone and second baseman Cal Early had two hits each for Liberty.
- Reliever Joseph Webb records the win. He pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Flames starting pitcher Josh Swink. The right-hander struck out six and walked two.
- Central Michigan starting pitcher Alejandro Espinoza takes the loss. He gave up five runs on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked three.
- Chippewa catcher Spencer Verburg had three hits and scored twice in the game.
Beyond the Box Score
- The Flames and Chippewas had only met once before on the baseball diamond. In 2022, Central Michigan edged Liberty 3-2 in 11 innings at the NCAA Gainesville Regional.
- Liberty wins back-to-back games for the first time since defeating NC State and Xavier on Feb. 18 and Feb. 21.
- DeCandido posts his second three-hit game of the season. The transfer from Maryland collected a career-high five RBI in the contest.
- Sorenson's three-hit game was his first of 2025. He has four multi-hit games this season.
- Webb has not allowed a run in five appearances this season. The right-hander has struck out 18 batters over 13 2/3 innings.
Up Next
Liberty and Central Michigan will meet in the middle game of their three-game series tomorrow afternoon at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Trailing 3-0 in the fifth inning, the Flames took the lead with five runs, highlighted by Moore's grand slam, his second home run of the season.
DeCandido added three hits, knocking in a career-high five runs for Liberty. He capped his day with a blast over the right field wall in the bottom of the eighth, his first career home run, for the final score of 9-5.
Liberty third baseman Jaxon Sorenson joined DeCandido with three hits in the contest, scoring two runs.
The Flames collect back-to-back wins and move to 9-4 on the year. The Chippewas fall to 2-11.
Box Score Highlights
Records: Central Michigan (2-11); Liberty (9-4)
Location: Lynchburg, Va. (Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium)
WP: Joseph Webb (1-0) | LP: Alejandro Espinoza (0-4)
Scoring Summary
2nd – CMU – Knowlton singles, Campanale and Verburg score, 2-0
2nd – CMU – Campau flies out, Smith scores, 3-0
5th – LIBERTY – DeCandido singles, Sorenson scores, 3-1
5th – LIBERTY – Moore homers, DeCandido, Scilley and Troyer score, 5-3
6th – CMU – Murphy singles, Smith scores, 5-4
6th – LIBERTY – DeCandido singles, Barone and Sorenson score, 7-4
8th – CMU – Ball flies out, Verburg scores, 7-5
8th – LIBERTY – DeCandido homers, Scilley scores, 9-5
Notable Numbers
- Liberty outhit Central Michigan, 13-7, in the contest. Each team committed one error.
- The Flames left 12 men on base. The Chippewas left eight.
- Left fielder Nick Barone and second baseman Cal Early had two hits each for Liberty.
- Reliever Joseph Webb records the win. He pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Flames starting pitcher Josh Swink. The right-hander struck out six and walked two.
- Central Michigan starting pitcher Alejandro Espinoza takes the loss. He gave up five runs on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked three.
- Chippewa catcher Spencer Verburg had three hits and scored twice in the game.
Beyond the Box Score
- The Flames and Chippewas had only met once before on the baseball diamond. In 2022, Central Michigan edged Liberty 3-2 in 11 innings at the NCAA Gainesville Regional.
- Liberty wins back-to-back games for the first time since defeating NC State and Xavier on Feb. 18 and Feb. 21.
- DeCandido posts his second three-hit game of the season. The transfer from Maryland collected a career-high five RBI in the contest.
- Sorenson's three-hit game was his first of 2025. He has four multi-hit games this season.
- Webb has not allowed a run in five appearances this season. The right-hander has struck out 18 batters over 13 2/3 innings.
Up Next
Liberty and Central Michigan will meet in the middle game of their three-game series tomorrow afternoon at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Webb, Joseph (1-0)
L: Alejandro Espinoza (0-4)
Batting:
3B: Cayden Smith 1
RBI: Carter Campau 1 ; Mikey Murphy 1 ; Nathan Ball 1 ; Zach Knowlton 2
SF: Carter Campau 1 ; Nathan Ball 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Spencer Verburg 2 ; Rees Campanale 1 ; Cayden Smith 2
SB: Aaron Piasecki 1 ; Spencer Verburg 1 ; Cayden Smith 2 ; Zach Knowlton 1
HBP: Carter Campau 1 ; Rees Campanale 1
Batting:
2B: Sorenson, Jaxon 1 ; Barone, Nick 1
HR: DeCandido, Riley 1 ; Moore, Tucker 1
RBI: DeCandido, Riley 5 ; Moore, Tucker 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Sorenson, Jaxon 2 ; Barone, Nick 1 ; Troyer, Camden 1 ; Scilley, Landon 2 ; DeCandido, Riley 2 ; Moore, Tucker 1
CS: Barone, Nick 1
HBP: DeCandido, Riley 1 ; Moore, Tucker 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
5
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF/C
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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