Liberty to Host No. 25 West Virginia for Home-Opening Series
2/19/2026 6:31:00 PM | Baseball
Series Coverage
No. 25 West Virginia at LibertyÂ
First pitch: Friday - 4 p.m. - Saturday - 2 p.m. - Sunday - 1 p.m.
Location:Â Lynchburg, Va.
Stadium:Â Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium
TV:Â ESPN+ (Broadcast Team: Alan York, Matt Warner, Jason Prill and Brent Jenkins
Quick Hits
• After taking two of three games in a season-opening series at The Citadel last week, the Liberty Flames will begin the home portion of their 2026 schedule with a three-game series against No. 25 West Virginia, Friday-Sunday at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
• Liberty will play 14 out of its next 17 games at home at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium. The Flames have won 11 consecutive home openers.
• Liberty is coming off a 30-27 season in 2025, marking its first 30-win season since 2022 (37-23).
• 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 head coach Bradley LeCroy is in his second season. LeCroy has led the Flames to a 32-28 record.
Series History
• Friday will be the first meeting between the Flames and the Mountaineers since 2020. The contest, a 7-0 West Virginia shutout, was the last game of 2020. The season was halted and later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• West Virginia and Liberty will meet for the sixth time in Lynchburg this weekend. The Mountaineers took two of the three games between the two teams the last time they met at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium during the weekend of April 12-14, 2013, the Liberty Baseball Stadium's first season. West Virginia took the first and third games,
with Liberty winning the second game.
• The Mountaineeers swept a three-game series at Georgia Southern last weekend. They enter the weekend ranked No. 25 in the D1Baseball.com Weekly National Poll.
• West Virginia was picked to finish third in the 2026 Big 12 Preseason Baseball Poll. The Mountaineers posted a 44-16 overall record in 2025 and advanced to the SuperRegionals, where they fell to National Champion LSU.
• 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.
• Head Coach Steve Sabins begins his second year at the helm of the West Virginia program. The Mountaineers are 47-16 under his guidance. He led West Virginia to an NCAA Super Regional during his first season.
Flames at Home
• Liberty is scheduled to play 31 games at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium this season, with 14 of the Flames' first 20 games of the 2026 season at home.
• Liberty enters Friday's contest having won its last 11 home openers. Old Dominion defeated Liberty 7-4 in the Flames' last home opening loss on Feb. 18, 2018.
• The Flames will begin their 14th season at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium on Friday. Liberty opened its first season at the facility with a 4-1 victory over Penn State on Feb. 22, 2013.
• Liberty posted a 20-13 record at the facility last season. Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium also hosted the 2025 CUSA Baseball Championship.
• Since the facility opened in 2013, Liberty has posted a 252-109 (.698) record at the stadium.
LeCroy Nears 100
• Liberty head coach Bradley LeCroy enters the weekend five wins shy of his milestone 100th career victory.
• In three seasons as a head coach, LeCroy has a .540 career winning percentage (95-81).
• The Flames posted a 30-27 mark in LeCroy's first season as head coach at Liberty. He previously spent two seasons at VCU, where he led the Rams to a 63-53 record.
Blair Named CUSA Pitcher of the Week
• Following a stellar opening to the season, junior right-hander Ben Blair was named the first Conference USA Pitcher of the Week of the 2026 season.
• For the second straight season, Blair captured the CUSA Pitcher of the Week for the opening weekend of the year. He was CUSA Pitcher of the Week after combining to pitch a shutout against St. John's last season.
• The 2026 CUSA Preseason Pitcher of the Year, the junior lived up to his billing in Liberty's season-opening game against The Citadel. The right-hander had a convincing performance in Liberty's 7-3 victory against the Bulldogs last Friday.
• Blair tossed six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. He struck out eight of the 20 batters he faced and needed just 72 pitches to complete six innings of work.
• The eight-strikeout showing against The Citadel was Blair's fifth-highest single-game strikeout performance.
• Blair helped the Flames' pitching staff finish the opening weekend of the season with 31 strikeouts to just four walks issued.
No. 25 West Virginia at LibertyÂ
First pitch: Friday - 4 p.m. - Saturday - 2 p.m. - Sunday - 1 p.m.
Location:Â Lynchburg, Va.
Stadium:Â Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium
TV:Â ESPN+ (Broadcast Team: Alan York, Matt Warner, Jason Prill and Brent Jenkins
- Friday, Feb. 20Â - 4Â p.m. -Â ESPN+ Broadcast Link
- Saturday, Feb. 21Â - 2Â p.m. -Â ESPN+ Broadcast Link
- Sunday, Feb. 22Â - 1Â p.m. -Â ESPN+ Broadcast LinkÂ
- Friday, Feb. 20 - 4Â p.m. -Â Audio Broadcast Link
- Saturday, Feb. 21 - 2Â p.m. -Â Audio Broadcast Link
- Sunday, Feb. 22 - 1 p.m. - Audio Broadcast Link
Quick Hits
• After taking two of three games in a season-opening series at The Citadel last week, the Liberty Flames will begin the home portion of their 2026 schedule with a three-game series against No. 25 West Virginia, Friday-Sunday at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
• Liberty will play 14 out of its next 17 games at home at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium. The Flames have won 11 consecutive home openers.
• Liberty is coming off a 30-27 season in 2025, marking its first 30-win season since 2022 (37-23).
• 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 head coach Bradley LeCroy is in his second season. LeCroy has led the Flames to a 32-28 record.
Series History
• Friday will be the first meeting between the Flames and the Mountaineers since 2020. The contest, a 7-0 West Virginia shutout, was the last game of 2020. The season was halted and later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• West Virginia and Liberty will meet for the sixth time in Lynchburg this weekend. The Mountaineers took two of the three games between the two teams the last time they met at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium during the weekend of April 12-14, 2013, the Liberty Baseball Stadium's first season. West Virginia took the first and third games,
with Liberty winning the second game.
• The Mountaineeers swept a three-game series at Georgia Southern last weekend. They enter the weekend ranked No. 25 in the D1Baseball.com Weekly National Poll.
• West Virginia was picked to finish third in the 2026 Big 12 Preseason Baseball Poll. The Mountaineers posted a 44-16 overall record in 2025 and advanced to the SuperRegionals, where they fell to National Champion LSU.
• 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.
• Head Coach Steve Sabins begins his second year at the helm of the West Virginia program. The Mountaineers are 47-16 under his guidance. He led West Virginia to an NCAA Super Regional during his first season.
Flames at Home
• Liberty is scheduled to play 31 games at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium this season, with 14 of the Flames' first 20 games of the 2026 season at home.
• Liberty enters Friday's contest having won its last 11 home openers. Old Dominion defeated Liberty 7-4 in the Flames' last home opening loss on Feb. 18, 2018.
• The Flames will begin their 14th season at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium on Friday. Liberty opened its first season at the facility with a 4-1 victory over Penn State on Feb. 22, 2013.
• Liberty posted a 20-13 record at the facility last season. Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium also hosted the 2025 CUSA Baseball Championship.
• Since the facility opened in 2013, Liberty has posted a 252-109 (.698) record at the stadium.
LeCroy Nears 100
• Liberty head coach Bradley LeCroy enters the weekend five wins shy of his milestone 100th career victory.
• In three seasons as a head coach, LeCroy has a .540 career winning percentage (95-81).
• The Flames posted a 30-27 mark in LeCroy's first season as head coach at Liberty. He previously spent two seasons at VCU, where he led the Rams to a 63-53 record.
Blair Named CUSA Pitcher of the Week
• Following a stellar opening to the season, junior right-hander Ben Blair was named the first Conference USA Pitcher of the Week of the 2026 season.
• For the second straight season, Blair captured the CUSA Pitcher of the Week for the opening weekend of the year. He was CUSA Pitcher of the Week after combining to pitch a shutout against St. John's last season.
• The 2026 CUSA Preseason Pitcher of the Year, the junior lived up to his billing in Liberty's season-opening game against The Citadel. The right-hander had a convincing performance in Liberty's 7-3 victory against the Bulldogs last Friday.
• Blair tossed six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. He struck out eight of the 20 batters he faced and needed just 72 pitches to complete six innings of work.
• The eight-strikeout showing against The Citadel was Blair's fifth-highest single-game strikeout performance.
• Blair helped the Flames' pitching staff finish the opening weekend of the season with 31 strikeouts to just four walks issued.
vs. The Citadel
Sunday, February 15
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