Liberty Ventures to Kennesaw State for 1st CUSA Road Series of 2026
3/19/2026 6:37:00 PM | Baseball
Series Coverage
Game:Â Liberty at Kennesaw StateÂ
Location:Â Kennesaw, Ga.
Stadium:Â Mickey Dunn Stadium
TV:Â ESPN+ (Broadcast Team: Trey Fowler and Bryce Gaubert )
Quick Facts
• The Liberty Flames travel to Kennesaw, Ga., for their first CUSA road series against the Kennesaw State Owls at Mickey Dunn Stadium, Friday-Sunday. Liberty has faced Kennesaw State the most of any CUSA program on the diamond.
• Liberty enters the weekend looking to snap a two-game losing skid. The Flames dropped games to No. 24 Wake Forest and No. 9 Virginia on Tuesday and Wednesday. Â
• The Flames are 4-2 on the road this season. Liberty fell in its last road game at Wake For-est this past Tuesday. Liberty had won three consecutive road games before that.
• Liberty head coach Bradley LeCroy is in his second season. LeCroy has led the Flames to a 43-32 record. LeCroy, who has been a head coach for four years, captured his 100th career coaching victory with Liberty's 10-7 victory over Hofstra on March 1.
Out On the Road
• Liberty dropped to 4-2 on the road this season after its loss at No. 25 Wake Forest. The Flames will play 25 games on the road in 2026.Â
• The Flames are in the midst of a swing where they play four of five games on the road. Liberty started the swing with a game at Wake Forest on Tuesday.
• Liberty finished its regular season with a 10-14 mark on the road in 2025.
DeCandido Records Second Two Home Run Game
First baseman Riley DeCandido hit two home runs, driving in four runs against Virginia on Wednesday. It was the first baseman's second two home run game. He also hit two home runs in a 12-10 win at UNCG on March 10. He leads the Flames with five home runs. Over the last six games, DeCandido has hit .300 with four home runs, eight RBI and seven runs scored.
Marsh Off to Good Start in 2026
• Liberty starting shortstop Tanner Marsh was the Flames' top returning offensive threat from the 2025 season and he has started 2026 by sparking the Liberty offense once again.
• The junior leads the Flames with a .338 batting average and runs with 18. He also tops Liberty with a .449 on-base percentage, 21 hits, 16 walks and 10 stolen bases.
• In addition, he is second on the Flames with 18 RBI.
• The infielder has had a 15-game hitting streak, the longest streak of his career, and reached base in each of the first 18 games.
• On March 10, he posted his first four-hit game of the year in Liberty's 12-10 victory at UNCG.
• Marsh, along with right-handed pitcher Ben Blair, was named to the 2026 CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team.
• Marsh has started every game at shortstop for the Flames since joining the Liberty roster in 2024.Â
• Last season, the infielder hit .295 with 52 runs scored, 22 RBI, 11 doubles, and two home runs in 56 games.Â
• He also stole a team-high 18 bases and led the Flames with 21 multi-hit games.Â
• The Asheboro, N.C., native walked 32 times and posted a .378 on-base percentage.
• One of the top defenders in CUSA, Marsh had a .962 fielding percentage, committing nine errors in 236 chances at shortstop.  He finished third in the conference with 153 fielding assists.
Blair and Zayac Named to National Pitcher of the Year Watch List
• Liberty right-handers Ben Blair and Bradley Zayac are two of college baseball's top 141 pitchers listed on the 2026 National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List. The list was released by the College Baseball Foundation on March 11.
• Ben Blair
   For the second consecutive year, Blair appears on the list. Selected as the 2026 CUSA Preseason Pitcher of the Year, Blair has performed to that billing, posting a 3-1 record with a 1.91 ERA over 28 1/3 innings. In five starts, he has struck out 42 and walked three, while holding opponents to a .157 batting average. The Gretna, Va., native also has a stellar 14.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
   Blair enters the weekend among the national leaders in several categories. The junior is seventh nationally with a 0.58 WHIP. He is also among the national leaders in strikeouts (14th) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (10th).
   The Gretna, Va., native, who has already been named the CUSA Pitcher of the Week twice this season (Feb. 16 & March 2), leads the conference in innings pitched, fewest walks yielded and opponent batting average. Blair is second in the conference in wins and strikeouts. The right-hander is also among the leaders in ERA (4th) hits allowed (3rd) and runs allowed (4th).
• Bradley Zayac
   Zayac, a transfer, has had an excellent start to his tenure in a Liberty uniform. The sophomore enters the weekend with a 3-0 record and a 1.69 ERA over 26 2/3 innings. In five games, four starts, the right-hander has struck out 31 and walked five. He has held opponents to a .215 batting average and also sports an excellent 6.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
   This past weekend, Zayac recorded his third win of the year, allowing two runs on four hits over 6.0 innings, in a 9-3 win over Missouri State. He struck out a career-high 10 and did not walk a batter.
   Currently, Zayac is third in CUSA in ERA. The Chesapeake, Va., native is also among the confer-ence leaders in wins (2nd), innings pitched (3th), strikeouts (3rd), opponent batting average (6th) and runs allowed (5th).
Game:Â Liberty at Kennesaw StateÂ
Location:Â Kennesaw, Ga.
Stadium:Â Mickey Dunn Stadium
TV:Â ESPN+ (Broadcast Team: Trey Fowler and Bryce Gaubert )
- Friday, March 20 - 6Â p.m. - ESPN+ Broadcast Link
- Saturday,. March 21Â - 4Â p.m. - ESPN+ Broadcast Link
- Sunday, March 22 - 1Â p.m. - ESPN+ Broadcast LinkÂ
- Friday, March 20Â - 6Â p.m. - Audio Broadcast Link
- Saturday, March 21Â - Audio Broadcast Link
- Sunday, March 22. - Audio Broadcast LinkÂ
Quick Facts
• The Liberty Flames travel to Kennesaw, Ga., for their first CUSA road series against the Kennesaw State Owls at Mickey Dunn Stadium, Friday-Sunday. Liberty has faced Kennesaw State the most of any CUSA program on the diamond.
• Liberty enters the weekend looking to snap a two-game losing skid. The Flames dropped games to No. 24 Wake Forest and No. 9 Virginia on Tuesday and Wednesday. Â
• The Flames are 4-2 on the road this season. Liberty fell in its last road game at Wake For-est this past Tuesday. Liberty had won three consecutive road games before that.
• Liberty head coach Bradley LeCroy is in his second season. LeCroy has led the Flames to a 43-32 record. LeCroy, who has been a head coach for four years, captured his 100th career coaching victory with Liberty's 10-7 victory over Hofstra on March 1.
Out On the Road
• Liberty dropped to 4-2 on the road this season after its loss at No. 25 Wake Forest. The Flames will play 25 games on the road in 2026.Â
• The Flames are in the midst of a swing where they play four of five games on the road. Liberty started the swing with a game at Wake Forest on Tuesday.
• Liberty finished its regular season with a 10-14 mark on the road in 2025.
DeCandido Records Second Two Home Run Game
First baseman Riley DeCandido hit two home runs, driving in four runs against Virginia on Wednesday. It was the first baseman's second two home run game. He also hit two home runs in a 12-10 win at UNCG on March 10. He leads the Flames with five home runs. Over the last six games, DeCandido has hit .300 with four home runs, eight RBI and seven runs scored.
Marsh Off to Good Start in 2026
• Liberty starting shortstop Tanner Marsh was the Flames' top returning offensive threat from the 2025 season and he has started 2026 by sparking the Liberty offense once again.
• The junior leads the Flames with a .338 batting average and runs with 18. He also tops Liberty with a .449 on-base percentage, 21 hits, 16 walks and 10 stolen bases.
• In addition, he is second on the Flames with 18 RBI.
• The infielder has had a 15-game hitting streak, the longest streak of his career, and reached base in each of the first 18 games.
• On March 10, he posted his first four-hit game of the year in Liberty's 12-10 victory at UNCG.
• Marsh, along with right-handed pitcher Ben Blair, was named to the 2026 CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team.
• Marsh has started every game at shortstop for the Flames since joining the Liberty roster in 2024.Â
• Last season, the infielder hit .295 with 52 runs scored, 22 RBI, 11 doubles, and two home runs in 56 games.Â
• He also stole a team-high 18 bases and led the Flames with 21 multi-hit games.Â
• The Asheboro, N.C., native walked 32 times and posted a .378 on-base percentage.
• One of the top defenders in CUSA, Marsh had a .962 fielding percentage, committing nine errors in 236 chances at shortstop.  He finished third in the conference with 153 fielding assists.
Blair and Zayac Named to National Pitcher of the Year Watch List
• Liberty right-handers Ben Blair and Bradley Zayac are two of college baseball's top 141 pitchers listed on the 2026 National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List. The list was released by the College Baseball Foundation on March 11.
• Ben Blair
   For the second consecutive year, Blair appears on the list. Selected as the 2026 CUSA Preseason Pitcher of the Year, Blair has performed to that billing, posting a 3-1 record with a 1.91 ERA over 28 1/3 innings. In five starts, he has struck out 42 and walked three, while holding opponents to a .157 batting average. The Gretna, Va., native also has a stellar 14.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
   Blair enters the weekend among the national leaders in several categories. The junior is seventh nationally with a 0.58 WHIP. He is also among the national leaders in strikeouts (14th) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (10th).
   The Gretna, Va., native, who has already been named the CUSA Pitcher of the Week twice this season (Feb. 16 & March 2), leads the conference in innings pitched, fewest walks yielded and opponent batting average. Blair is second in the conference in wins and strikeouts. The right-hander is also among the leaders in ERA (4th) hits allowed (3rd) and runs allowed (4th).
• Bradley Zayac
   Zayac, a transfer, has had an excellent start to his tenure in a Liberty uniform. The sophomore enters the weekend with a 3-0 record and a 1.69 ERA over 26 2/3 innings. In five games, four starts, the right-hander has struck out 31 and walked five. He has held opponents to a .215 batting average and also sports an excellent 6.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
   This past weekend, Zayac recorded his third win of the year, allowing two runs on four hits over 6.0 innings, in a 9-3 win over Missouri State. He struck out a career-high 10 and did not walk a batter.
   Currently, Zayac is third in CUSA in ERA. The Chesapeake, Va., native is also among the confer-ence leaders in wins (2nd), innings pitched (3th), strikeouts (3rd), opponent batting average (6th) and runs allowed (5th).
Players Mentioned
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