Liberty Set to Open 2026 Campaign at The Citadel
2/12/2026 3:05:00 PM | Baseball
Series Coverage
Liberty at The Citadel (Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park)
First Pitch: Friday – 4 p.m./Saturday – 5 p.m./Sunday – 1 p.m.
TV: ESPN+ (Broadcast Team: RJ Taylor, Travis Lott, and Asher Wojciechowski)
Radio: LFSN Radio (Play-by-Play: Nick Pierce)
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Quick Hits
• The opening weekend of the 2026 season for the Flames will feature a match-up of head coaches entering their second season with their teams (Liberty's Bradley LeCroy/30-27 in 2025; The Citadel's Russell Triplett/31-26 in 2025).
• Liberty is coming off a 30-27 season in 2025, marking its first 30-win season since 2022 (37-23).
• After the Flames finish this weekend's series at The Citadel, Liberty will play 14 out of its next 17 games at home at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
• The Flames had great success in 2025 in non-conference games, posting a 20-10 record against teams outside of Conference USA with wins over three ranked non-conference foes.
• Liberty's 2026 schedule will pit the Flames against 14 teams who participated in NCAA Regionals in 2025, including NCAA Super Regional representatives Duke and West Virginia.
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Series History
• Liberty and the Citadel have not met on the diamond since 2017, when the Flames defeated the Bulldogs 9-1 during the Citadel Challenge on Feb. 19, 2017, at Riley Park. All six meetings between the two teams have come at Riley Park.
• The Citadel posted a 31-26 overall record and a 12-9 mark in SoCon play in 2025. The Bulldogs were 21-13 at Riley Park.
• The Bulldogs picked to finish fourth in the 2026 Preseason SoCon Poll. Pitchers Will Holmes and Andrew Stanley, catcher Phillips Daniel and utility player TJ Anderson were selected to the Preseason SoCon All-Conference second team.
• Head Coach Russell Triplett begins his second year at the helm of the Citadel program. The Bulldogs posted a 31-26 mark in his first season in 2025.
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For Openers
• Liberty will open its season on the road for the first time in three years on Friday.
• The last two seasons, the Flames began their seasons at home with wins over St. John's 12-3 in 2025 and Quinnipiac 10-0 in 2024.
• Including this year's opener, Liberty has began its season on the road in 18 of the last 21 years.
• Liberty is 30-21 in season lid-lifters since 1976 (no records available for 1974 or 1975) and 14-17 on the road or in neutral site openers.
• The Flames also opened their season at Riley Park, the home of the Citadel Bulldogs, in 2012 and 2017.
• Liberty went 4-0 in 2012 in the Crabhouse Shootout against a field of Richmond, Towson and host the Citadel. In 2017, the Flames went 2-1 in the Citadel Challenge, falling to No. 16 Virginia, while defeating Kansas and the Citadel.
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Among National Leaders in Fielding
• Liberty had one of its best fielding seasons in program history in 2025, finishing the campaign with a .983 fielding percentage.
• The Flames' fielding percentage in 2025 led Conference USA and ranked No. 3 in the country.
• Liberty's fielding percentage in 2025 fell just shy of the program record set in 2021 (.984).
• The Flames also nearly set a new program record for fewest errors in a season, finishing 2025 with 34 errors (program record is 32 set in 2021).
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Top Arms In Conference USA in 2025
• Liberty finished the 2025 season with a 4.64 team ERA, which ranked second best in Conference USA.
• Conference champion Western Kentucky paced Conference USA with a 3.12 ERA, which ranked No. 4 nationally.
• Liberty's ERA of 4.64 ranked No. 37 in the country in 2025.
• The Flames' ERA from last season was its best team ERA since posting a 4.29 ERA in 2022.
• Liberty also finished the 2025 season with 202 walks, its fewest walks issued since 2021 when the Flames finished the campaign with just 187 walks.
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Liberty at The Citadel (Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park)
First Pitch: Friday – 4 p.m./Saturday – 5 p.m./Sunday – 1 p.m.
TV: ESPN+ (Broadcast Team: RJ Taylor, Travis Lott, and Asher Wojciechowski)
Radio: LFSN Radio (Play-by-Play: Nick Pierce)
- Friday, Feb. 13 - 4Â p.m. - Audio Broadcast Link
- Saturday, Feb. 14 - 5Â p.m. - Audio Broadcast Link
- Sunday, Feb. 15 - 1Â p.m. - Audio Broadcast LinkÂ
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Quick Hits
• The opening weekend of the 2026 season for the Flames will feature a match-up of head coaches entering their second season with their teams (Liberty's Bradley LeCroy/30-27 in 2025; The Citadel's Russell Triplett/31-26 in 2025).
• Liberty is coming off a 30-27 season in 2025, marking its first 30-win season since 2022 (37-23).
• After the Flames finish this weekend's series at The Citadel, Liberty will play 14 out of its next 17 games at home at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
• The Flames had great success in 2025 in non-conference games, posting a 20-10 record against teams outside of Conference USA with wins over three ranked non-conference foes.
• Liberty's 2026 schedule will pit the Flames against 14 teams who participated in NCAA Regionals in 2025, including NCAA Super Regional representatives Duke and West Virginia.
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Series History
• Liberty and the Citadel have not met on the diamond since 2017, when the Flames defeated the Bulldogs 9-1 during the Citadel Challenge on Feb. 19, 2017, at Riley Park. All six meetings between the two teams have come at Riley Park.
• The Citadel posted a 31-26 overall record and a 12-9 mark in SoCon play in 2025. The Bulldogs were 21-13 at Riley Park.
• The Bulldogs picked to finish fourth in the 2026 Preseason SoCon Poll. Pitchers Will Holmes and Andrew Stanley, catcher Phillips Daniel and utility player TJ Anderson were selected to the Preseason SoCon All-Conference second team.
• Head Coach Russell Triplett begins his second year at the helm of the Citadel program. The Bulldogs posted a 31-26 mark in his first season in 2025.
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For Openers
• Liberty will open its season on the road for the first time in three years on Friday.
• The last two seasons, the Flames began their seasons at home with wins over St. John's 12-3 in 2025 and Quinnipiac 10-0 in 2024.
• Including this year's opener, Liberty has began its season on the road in 18 of the last 21 years.
• Liberty is 30-21 in season lid-lifters since 1976 (no records available for 1974 or 1975) and 14-17 on the road or in neutral site openers.
• The Flames also opened their season at Riley Park, the home of the Citadel Bulldogs, in 2012 and 2017.
• Liberty went 4-0 in 2012 in the Crabhouse Shootout against a field of Richmond, Towson and host the Citadel. In 2017, the Flames went 2-1 in the Citadel Challenge, falling to No. 16 Virginia, while defeating Kansas and the Citadel.
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Among National Leaders in Fielding
• Liberty had one of its best fielding seasons in program history in 2025, finishing the campaign with a .983 fielding percentage.
• The Flames' fielding percentage in 2025 led Conference USA and ranked No. 3 in the country.
• Liberty's fielding percentage in 2025 fell just shy of the program record set in 2021 (.984).
• The Flames also nearly set a new program record for fewest errors in a season, finishing 2025 with 34 errors (program record is 32 set in 2021).
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Top Arms In Conference USA in 2025
• Liberty finished the 2025 season with a 4.64 team ERA, which ranked second best in Conference USA.
• Conference champion Western Kentucky paced Conference USA with a 3.12 ERA, which ranked No. 4 nationally.
• Liberty's ERA of 4.64 ranked No. 37 in the country in 2025.
• The Flames' ERA from last season was its best team ERA since posting a 4.29 ERA in 2022.
• Liberty also finished the 2025 season with 202 walks, its fewest walks issued since 2021 when the Flames finished the campaign with just 187 walks.
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