Saturday, February 14
Charleston, S.C.
5:00 PM ET
Liberty University
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The Citadel
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Liberty
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The Citadel
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Flames Fall to Bulldogs, 4-3, in Middle Game of Season-Opening Series
2/14/2026 10:27:00 PM | Baseball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – After tying the game on a Nick Barone RBI double in the top of the eighth inning, the Flames surrendered a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame.
Liberty would eventually dropped a 4-3 decision to The Citadel, Saturday afternoon, at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
Following the Barone eighth-inning double, the Bulldogs leadoff hitter Aryan Patel doubled down the left field line, scoring Jayden Williams.
Patel advanced to third on a throw to the plate and scored on a throwing error by Flames' catcher Kyle Hvidsten to put the home team up by two, 4-2.
Liberty mounted one last charge in the top of the ninth inning, thanks to a leadoff double by Dylan Grabowski and an infield single by Josh Campos to put runners on the corners with no outs.
Grabowski scored on a fielder's choice play off the bat of Tanner Marsh. However, The Citadel's Michael Gibson secured his first win of the season with his seventh strikeout of the game and a flyout to halt the attempted comeback to end the ninth.
Barone (2-for-2 with a run scored and a RBI) and Campos (2-for-4) accounted for four of Liberty's five hits in the game. Grabowski recorded the last as he was 1-of-4 on the day with a run scored.
With the one-run victory by The Citadel, both team's records in 2026 now stand at 1-1 heading into tomorrow's series finale.
Box Score Highlights
Records: The Citadel (1-1); Liberty (1-1)
Location: Charleston, S.C. (Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park)
WP: Michael Gibson (1-0) | LP: Ayden Decker-Petty (0-1)
Scoring Summary
2nd – THE CITADEL – Lively singled, Hodges and Barbrey scored, 2-0
4th – LIBERTY – Jaffe sacrifice fly, Barone scored, 2-1
8th – LIBERTY – Barone doubled, Drumm scored, 2-2
8th – THE CITADEL – Patel doubled, Williams and Patel scored (on throwing error), 4-2
9th – LIBERTY – Marsh fielder's choice, Grabowski scored, 4-3
Notable Numbers
- Hits were at a premium in the game with both teams collecting five hits. Liberty committed two errors to The Citadel's one miscue.
- The two teams managed just three combined runs and six combined hits during the first seven innings of play.
- Liberty had more opportunities to score in the game, leaving nine runners on base as compared to The Citadel's two runners left on.
- Similar to yesterday's game, no Bulldog had more than one hit in the game. The Citadel's five hits were evenly spread among five different players.
- In his first appearance since transferring from NC State, Jaxon Lucas allowed two runs on three hits over 4.0 innings of work. He struck out three batters and issued no walks.
- Tyler August was effective in his first relief appearance of 2026, scattering one hit over 3.0 innings of work and striking out four of the 10 batters he faced.
- Decker-Petty, a transfer from Indiana, took the loss after he allowed two runs on one hit in one full inning of relief work.
- The Citadel starter Bryce Coulter kept the Flames' bats in check during the first 5.0 innings of work. He allowed one run on two hits, struck out two and walked three.
- Gibson picked up the win in long relief, allowing two runs on three hits over 4.0 innings of work. He struck out seven Flames and walked two batters.
Beyond the Box Score
- Nick Barone now has three hits on the season, all of which are extra base hits (two doubles and a home run).
- After leading the Flames with 18 stolen bases in 2025, Tanner Marsh has recorded one stolen base in each of his first two games in 2026.
- Marsh now has 24 stolen bases in his career as a Flame.
- After recording 18 multi-hit games in 2025, Nick Barone recorded his first of 2026 today against the Bulldogs.
- Liberty has scored on a sacrifice fly in both of its games in 2026 after recording 22 sacrifice flies in 2025.
Up Next
Due to the threat of inclement weather, Sunday's series finale has been moved up two hours. First pitch from Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park is now scheduled for 11 a.m.
Liberty would eventually dropped a 4-3 decision to The Citadel, Saturday afternoon, at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
Following the Barone eighth-inning double, the Bulldogs leadoff hitter Aryan Patel doubled down the left field line, scoring Jayden Williams.
Patel advanced to third on a throw to the plate and scored on a throwing error by Flames' catcher Kyle Hvidsten to put the home team up by two, 4-2.
Liberty mounted one last charge in the top of the ninth inning, thanks to a leadoff double by Dylan Grabowski and an infield single by Josh Campos to put runners on the corners with no outs.
Grabowski scored on a fielder's choice play off the bat of Tanner Marsh. However, The Citadel's Michael Gibson secured his first win of the season with his seventh strikeout of the game and a flyout to halt the attempted comeback to end the ninth.
Barone (2-for-2 with a run scored and a RBI) and Campos (2-for-4) accounted for four of Liberty's five hits in the game. Grabowski recorded the last as he was 1-of-4 on the day with a run scored.
With the one-run victory by The Citadel, both team's records in 2026 now stand at 1-1 heading into tomorrow's series finale.
Box Score Highlights
Records: The Citadel (1-1); Liberty (1-1)
Location: Charleston, S.C. (Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park)
WP: Michael Gibson (1-0) | LP: Ayden Decker-Petty (0-1)
Scoring Summary
2nd – THE CITADEL – Lively singled, Hodges and Barbrey scored, 2-0
4th – LIBERTY – Jaffe sacrifice fly, Barone scored, 2-1
8th – LIBERTY – Barone doubled, Drumm scored, 2-2
8th – THE CITADEL – Patel doubled, Williams and Patel scored (on throwing error), 4-2
9th – LIBERTY – Marsh fielder's choice, Grabowski scored, 4-3
Notable Numbers
- Hits were at a premium in the game with both teams collecting five hits. Liberty committed two errors to The Citadel's one miscue.
- The two teams managed just three combined runs and six combined hits during the first seven innings of play.
- Liberty had more opportunities to score in the game, leaving nine runners on base as compared to The Citadel's two runners left on.
- Similar to yesterday's game, no Bulldog had more than one hit in the game. The Citadel's five hits were evenly spread among five different players.
- In his first appearance since transferring from NC State, Jaxon Lucas allowed two runs on three hits over 4.0 innings of work. He struck out three batters and issued no walks.
- Tyler August was effective in his first relief appearance of 2026, scattering one hit over 3.0 innings of work and striking out four of the 10 batters he faced.
- Decker-Petty, a transfer from Indiana, took the loss after he allowed two runs on one hit in one full inning of relief work.
- The Citadel starter Bryce Coulter kept the Flames' bats in check during the first 5.0 innings of work. He allowed one run on two hits, struck out two and walked three.
- Gibson picked up the win in long relief, allowing two runs on three hits over 4.0 innings of work. He struck out seven Flames and walked two batters.
Beyond the Box Score
- Nick Barone now has three hits on the season, all of which are extra base hits (two doubles and a home run).
- After leading the Flames with 18 stolen bases in 2025, Tanner Marsh has recorded one stolen base in each of his first two games in 2026.
- Marsh now has 24 stolen bases in his career as a Flame.
- After recording 18 multi-hit games in 2025, Nick Barone recorded his first of 2026 today against the Bulldogs.
- Liberty has scored on a sacrifice fly in both of its games in 2026 after recording 22 sacrifice flies in 2025.
Up Next
Due to the threat of inclement weather, Sunday's series finale has been moved up two hours. First pitch from Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park is now scheduled for 11 a.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Michael Gibson (1-0)
L: Decker-Petty, Aydan (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Barone, Nick 2 ; Grabowski, Dylan 1 ; Campos, Josh 1
RBI: Marsh, Tanner 1 ; Barone, Nick 1 ; Jaffe, Jordan 1
SF: Jaffe, Jordan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Drumm, Ryan 1 ; Barone, Nick 1 ; Grabowski, Dylan 1
SB: Marsh, Tanner 1
HBP: DeCandido, Riley 1 ; Drumm, Ryan 1
Batting:
2B: Aryan Patel 1
RBI: Aryan Patel 1 ; Matthew Lively 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Aryan Patel 1 ; Miles Barbrey 1 ; Carson Hodges 1 ; Jayden Williams 1
SB: Carson Hodges 1 ; Matthew Lively 1 ; Jayden Williams 1
CS: Lane Tobin 1
HBP: Lane Tobin 1 ; Jayden Williams 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
0
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP
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/ Baseballvs. The Citadel
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Tanner Marsh Talks About The Start Of Baseball Season
Thursday, February 05
Coach LeCroy Talks About The Upcoming Season
Wednesday, January 21
Liberty Baseball Mission Trip to Guatemala
Tuesday, October 14