Friday, April 4
Lynchburg, Va.
3:00 PM ET
Liberty University
20-11, 3-4
13
vs
3
Middle Tennessee
15-14, 2-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
H
E
Middle Tennessee
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
3
7
1
Liberty
4
0
2
3
0
1
1
2
13
18
0
Liberty Run-Rules Middle Tennessee 13-3 in 8 Innings
4/4/2025 7:42:00 PM | Baseball
LYNCHBURG, VA. – The Liberty Flames plated four runs in the first inning and never looked back, downing the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 13-3 in eight innings to open their three-game CUSA series Friday afternoon at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
Liberty batted around in the first inning, striking for four runs on a two-run double by left fielder Nick Barone and a two-run single by catcher Seth Christmas. The Flames then tacked on two runs in the third and three in the fourth to take a commanding lead.
Liberty starter Dylan Mathiesen was in control throughout his outing. He did yield a run over a career-high six innings, scattering three hits. The right-hander did not allow a Blue Raider past second base.
Flames second baseman Callum Early had five hits and two RBI, scoring two runs in the contest, while catcher Seth Christmas drove in a season-high four runs with two hits, including his first home run of the season.
Right fielder Camden Troyer added four hits and blasted his sixth home run of the year for the Flames. He also scored four runs. The senior was a triple away from hitting for the cycle.
Liberty snaps a three-game losing streak, moving to 20-11 overall and 3-4 in CUSA. Middle Tennessee falls to 15-14 overall and 2-5 in CUSA.
Box Score Highlights
Records: Middle Tennessee (15-14, 2-5 CUSA); Liberty (20-11, 3-4 CUSA)
Location: Lynchburg, Va. (Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium)
WP: Dylan Mathiesen (2-1) | LP: Will Jenkins (2-3)
Scoring Summary
1st – LIBERTY – Barone doubles, Sorenson and Early score, 2-0
1st – LIBERTY – Christmas singles, Troyer and Barone score, 4-0
3rd – LIBERTY – Early singles, Gibson and Troyer score, 6-0
4th – LIBERTY – Gibson singles, Troyer scores, 7-0
4th – LIBERTY – Christmas homers, Gibson scores, 9-0
6th - LIBERTY – Troyer homers, 10-0
7th – MTSU – McKinley homers, Badylak and Vondohlen score, 10-3
7th – LIBERTY – Baron walks, Early scores, 11-3
8th – LIBERTY – Robertson singles, Scilley scores, 12-3
8th – LIBERTY – Sorenson singles, Robertson scores, 13-3
Notable Numbers
- Liberty out-hit Middle Tennessee, 18-7, in the contest. The Blue Raiders committed the game's lone error.
- Liberty left 12 men on base. Middle Tennessee left five.
- All nine men in the Flames batting order had at least one hit in the game.
- Liberty had eight two-out RBI in the game.
- Designated hitter Michael Gibson had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored for the Flames.
- Mathiesen runs his record to 2-1 on the year. The CUSA leader in strikeouts, he struck out six and walked one.
- Middle Tennessee starting pitcher Will Jenkins takes the loss. The Flames roughed up Jenkins for nine runs on 11 hits over 3 2/3 innings. He struck out two and walked two batters.
- Designated hitter Kenny McKinley hit his fourth home run of the season for the Blue Raiders.
- Middle Tennessee first baseman Brett Vondohlen had three hits, one a double, and scored a run.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty and Middle Tennessee are meeting for the first time in Lynchburg this weekend. The two teams met last season in Conference USA play in Murfreesboro.
- Liberty's 18 hits are the most by the Flames this season. Liberty had previous collected 16 hits twice in wins over Xavier (Feb. 21) and Central Michigan (March 8).
- Early becomes the first Flame since 2023 with five or more hits in a game. Kane Kepley was the last to achieve the feat, tying the school record with six hits in Liberty's 15-12 victory at Eastern Kentucky on May 13, 2023. In addition, Early becomes the first Flame since Aaron Anderson to have five hits at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium since 2021. Anderson had five hits in a 12-6 win over Bellarmine.
- Early extends his on-base streak to a team-high 20 games. The second baseman raises his batting average to a team-leading .347 and is eighth in CUSA with a .495 on-base percentage.
- Troyer records his second four-hit game of the year. He had four hits in Liberty's 12-4 win at Duke on Feb. 26. The outfielder ties Marsh for the team lead with 10 multi-hit games this season.
- Christmas's four RBI are a season-high for the catcher. He had not had more than one RBI in a game this season.
- Gibson records his multi-hit games in back-to-back contests.
- Marsh has at least one hit in nine consecutive games, the longest for a Flame this season.
- Mathieson leads CUSA with 64 strikeouts and 43 innings pitched. He lowers his ERA to 3.77, eighth best in the conference. His outing today was the longest of his career. The right-hander had never gone more than 5 1/3 innings in a game previously.
Up Next
Liberty and Middle Tennessee will meet again tomorrow in the middle game of their three-game conference series at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Liberty batted around in the first inning, striking for four runs on a two-run double by left fielder Nick Barone and a two-run single by catcher Seth Christmas. The Flames then tacked on two runs in the third and three in the fourth to take a commanding lead.
Liberty starter Dylan Mathiesen was in control throughout his outing. He did yield a run over a career-high six innings, scattering three hits. The right-hander did not allow a Blue Raider past second base.
Flames second baseman Callum Early had five hits and two RBI, scoring two runs in the contest, while catcher Seth Christmas drove in a season-high four runs with two hits, including his first home run of the season.
Right fielder Camden Troyer added four hits and blasted his sixth home run of the year for the Flames. He also scored four runs. The senior was a triple away from hitting for the cycle.
Liberty snaps a three-game losing streak, moving to 20-11 overall and 3-4 in CUSA. Middle Tennessee falls to 15-14 overall and 2-5 in CUSA.
Box Score Highlights
Records: Middle Tennessee (15-14, 2-5 CUSA); Liberty (20-11, 3-4 CUSA)
Location: Lynchburg, Va. (Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium)
WP: Dylan Mathiesen (2-1) | LP: Will Jenkins (2-3)
Scoring Summary
1st – LIBERTY – Barone doubles, Sorenson and Early score, 2-0
1st – LIBERTY – Christmas singles, Troyer and Barone score, 4-0
3rd – LIBERTY – Early singles, Gibson and Troyer score, 6-0
4th – LIBERTY – Gibson singles, Troyer scores, 7-0
4th – LIBERTY – Christmas homers, Gibson scores, 9-0
6th - LIBERTY – Troyer homers, 10-0
7th – MTSU – McKinley homers, Badylak and Vondohlen score, 10-3
7th – LIBERTY – Baron walks, Early scores, 11-3
8th – LIBERTY – Robertson singles, Scilley scores, 12-3
8th – LIBERTY – Sorenson singles, Robertson scores, 13-3
Notable Numbers
- Liberty out-hit Middle Tennessee, 18-7, in the contest. The Blue Raiders committed the game's lone error.
- Liberty left 12 men on base. Middle Tennessee left five.
- All nine men in the Flames batting order had at least one hit in the game.
- Liberty had eight two-out RBI in the game.
- Designated hitter Michael Gibson had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored for the Flames.
- Mathiesen runs his record to 2-1 on the year. The CUSA leader in strikeouts, he struck out six and walked one.
- Middle Tennessee starting pitcher Will Jenkins takes the loss. The Flames roughed up Jenkins for nine runs on 11 hits over 3 2/3 innings. He struck out two and walked two batters.
- Designated hitter Kenny McKinley hit his fourth home run of the season for the Blue Raiders.
- Middle Tennessee first baseman Brett Vondohlen had three hits, one a double, and scored a run.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty and Middle Tennessee are meeting for the first time in Lynchburg this weekend. The two teams met last season in Conference USA play in Murfreesboro.
- Liberty's 18 hits are the most by the Flames this season. Liberty had previous collected 16 hits twice in wins over Xavier (Feb. 21) and Central Michigan (March 8).
- Early becomes the first Flame since 2023 with five or more hits in a game. Kane Kepley was the last to achieve the feat, tying the school record with six hits in Liberty's 15-12 victory at Eastern Kentucky on May 13, 2023. In addition, Early becomes the first Flame since Aaron Anderson to have five hits at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium since 2021. Anderson had five hits in a 12-6 win over Bellarmine.
- Early extends his on-base streak to a team-high 20 games. The second baseman raises his batting average to a team-leading .347 and is eighth in CUSA with a .495 on-base percentage.
- Troyer records his second four-hit game of the year. He had four hits in Liberty's 12-4 win at Duke on Feb. 26. The outfielder ties Marsh for the team lead with 10 multi-hit games this season.
- Christmas's four RBI are a season-high for the catcher. He had not had more than one RBI in a game this season.
- Gibson records his multi-hit games in back-to-back contests.
- Marsh has at least one hit in nine consecutive games, the longest for a Flame this season.
- Mathieson leads CUSA with 64 strikeouts and 43 innings pitched. He lowers his ERA to 3.77, eighth best in the conference. His outing today was the longest of his career. The right-hander had never gone more than 5 1/3 innings in a game previously.
Up Next
Liberty and Middle Tennessee will meet again tomorrow in the middle game of their three-game conference series at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
B4: HO-HO-HOmerun ?? pic.twitter.com/0Z6uVuAVb6
— Liberty Baseball (@LibertyBaseball) April 4, 2025
??? HIT DAY FOR CAL EARLY pic.twitter.com/OHpeIuYkSj
— Liberty Baseball (@LibertyBaseball) April 4, 2025
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mathiesen, Dylan (2-1)
L: Will Jenkins (2-3)
Batting:
2B: Brett Vondohlen 1
HR: Kenny McKinley 1
RBI: Kenny McKinley 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Brett Vondohlen 1 ; Clay Badylak 1 ; Kenny McKinley 1
Batting:
2B: Early, Callum 1 ; Barone, Nick 1 ; Troyer, Camden 1
HR: Troyer, Camden 1 ; Christmas, Seth 1
RBI: Early, Callum 2 ; Sorenson, Jaxon 1 ; Barone, Nick 3 ; Troyer, Camden 1 ; Gibson, Michael 1 ; Christmas, Seth 4 ; Robertson, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Early, Callum 2 ; Sorenson, Jaxon 1 ; Barone, Nick 1 ; Troyer, Camden 4 ; Gibson, Michael 2 ; Christmas, Seth 1 ; Scilley, Landon 1 ; Robertson, Michael 1
SB: Early, Callum 1 ; Scilley, Landon 1
HBP: Scilley, Landon 1 ; Robertson, Michael 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
6
R
2
H
5
RBI
2
AB
5
R
4
H
4
RBI
1
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballRHP/UTL
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballFlames in the Pros: Garrett Horn
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Inside the Park: Conference USA Championship
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Coach LeCroy & Camden Troyer Talk About Preparing For The CUSA Baseball Tournament
Monday, May 19
Ben Blair: The Hometown Ace
Wednesday, May 07