Saturday, May 23
6:50 PM ET
Liberty University
40-18
7
vs
5
Missouri State
34-18
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri St. | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
| Liberty | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 7 | 10 | 1 |
No. 2 Seed Liberty Moves on to Title Game with 7-5 Win
5/24/2026 1:04:00 PM | Baseball
KENNESAW, GA. – The No. 2 Seed Liberty Flames defeated the No. 3 Missouri State Bears 7-5 as the two teams completed their suspended game from last night on Saturday morning at the 2026 CUSA Baseball Championship at Mickey Dunn Stadium. With the victory, Liberty moves on to its first-ever CUSA title game.
Liberty relievers Tyler August and Cooper Harrington shut down the Bears over the final four innings to preserve a two-run Flames' advantage. August gave up one run on three hits over three innings. Harrington followed with a scoreless ninth to close out the victory and earn his 13th save of the season.
The Flames answered with runs of their own in the bottom of every inning that the Bears scored in the top of the frame.
Center fielder Josh Campos had two hits, including an RBI triple, and scored a run for the Flames. Third baseman Jordan Jaffe joined Campos with two hits. He also scored a run.
Liberty moves to 41-18 and advances to the CUSA Baseball Championship title game. Missouri State is eliminated from the tournament. The Bears drop to 34-19.
Box Score Highlights
Records: Missouri State (34-19); Liberty (41-18)
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. (Mickey Dunn Stadium)
WP: Bradley Zayac (9-0) | LP: Brook Lucas (6-5) | SV: Cooper Harrington (13)
Scoring Summary
1st – MOST – Gollert flies out, Cermenelli scores, 1-0
1st – MOST – Bogenpohl grounds into a fielder's choice, Fyffe scores, 2-0
1st – LIBERTY – Sorenson grounds out, Marsh scores, 2-1
1st – LIBERTY – Swofford doubles, Jaffe and Decandido score, 3-2
2nd – MOST – Roessler homered. 3-3
2nd – LIBERTY – DeCandido flies out, Marsh scores, 4-3
4th – MOST – Atkinson homers, 4-4
4th – LIBERTY – Campos triples, Hvidsten scores, 5-4
4th – LIBERTY – Marsh grounds out, Campos, 6-4
7th – MOST – Bogenpohl singles, Cermenelli scores, 6-5
7th – LIBERTY – Barone singles, DeCandido scores, 7-5
Notable Numbers
- Liberty edged Missouri State in hits, 10-9. The Flames committed one error. The Bears made four errors.
- Liberty left five men on base. Missouri State left 10 men on base.
- Flames starting pitcher Bradley Zayac runs his record to 9-0 on the season. The right-hander allowed four runs, three earned, over five innings. He struck out five and walked one.
- August struck out six and walked one during his three-inning stint.
- Harrington struck out one and walked one.
- Brock Lucas takes the loss for the Bears. He gave six runs, five earned, on seven hits, striking out three and walking one.
- Missouri State shortstop Logan Fyffe led all players in the game with three hits. He scored a run.
- Designated hitter Bobby Atkinson and left fielder Gabe Roessler each hit home runs for the Bears.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty advances to its first CUSA Championship game. The Flames will play in a conference championship for the first time since 2022. The Flames fell to Kennesaw State in the 2022 ASUN Championship, 10-6, in Fort Myers, Fla.
- The game was suspended at 8:48 p.m. in the middle of the sixth inning on Friday evening due to lightning in the Kennesaw, Ga., area.
- The 2026 Flames become the fourth team in program history to win 41 or more games in a season. The last to win 41 games was the 2019 team, which tied the school record with 43 wins. The 2010 (43), 2013 (41) and 2014 (41) teams also won 41 or more games in a season.
- Campos records his 15th multi-hit game of the season.
- With his two hits, Jaffe posts his 22nd multi-hit game of the year. The third baseman has at least one hit in each of Liberty's CUSA Baseball Championship games.
- August leads the Flames with 26 appearances, all in relief.
- Harrington records his 13th save of the year. He is currently fourth in the country in saves. The right-hander ties Evan Brabrand (2019) for second on the Liberty single-season save list.
Up Next
Liberty advances to the CUSA Championship title game. The Flames will face the No. 1 seed Jax State Gamecocks. Game time is scheduled for Noon.
Liberty relievers Tyler August and Cooper Harrington shut down the Bears over the final four innings to preserve a two-run Flames' advantage. August gave up one run on three hits over three innings. Harrington followed with a scoreless ninth to close out the victory and earn his 13th save of the season.
The Flames answered with runs of their own in the bottom of every inning that the Bears scored in the top of the frame.
Center fielder Josh Campos had two hits, including an RBI triple, and scored a run for the Flames. Third baseman Jordan Jaffe joined Campos with two hits. He also scored a run.
Liberty moves to 41-18 and advances to the CUSA Baseball Championship title game. Missouri State is eliminated from the tournament. The Bears drop to 34-19.
Box Score Highlights
Records: Missouri State (34-19); Liberty (41-18)
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. (Mickey Dunn Stadium)
WP: Bradley Zayac (9-0) | LP: Brook Lucas (6-5) | SV: Cooper Harrington (13)
Scoring Summary
1st – MOST – Gollert flies out, Cermenelli scores, 1-0
1st – MOST – Bogenpohl grounds into a fielder's choice, Fyffe scores, 2-0
1st – LIBERTY – Sorenson grounds out, Marsh scores, 2-1
1st – LIBERTY – Swofford doubles, Jaffe and Decandido score, 3-2
2nd – MOST – Roessler homered. 3-3
2nd – LIBERTY – DeCandido flies out, Marsh scores, 4-3
4th – MOST – Atkinson homers, 4-4
4th – LIBERTY – Campos triples, Hvidsten scores, 5-4
4th – LIBERTY – Marsh grounds out, Campos, 6-4
7th – MOST – Bogenpohl singles, Cermenelli scores, 6-5
7th – LIBERTY – Barone singles, DeCandido scores, 7-5
Notable Numbers
- Liberty edged Missouri State in hits, 10-9. The Flames committed one error. The Bears made four errors.
- Liberty left five men on base. Missouri State left 10 men on base.
- Flames starting pitcher Bradley Zayac runs his record to 9-0 on the season. The right-hander allowed four runs, three earned, over five innings. He struck out five and walked one.
- August struck out six and walked one during his three-inning stint.
- Harrington struck out one and walked one.
- Brock Lucas takes the loss for the Bears. He gave six runs, five earned, on seven hits, striking out three and walking one.
- Missouri State shortstop Logan Fyffe led all players in the game with three hits. He scored a run.
- Designated hitter Bobby Atkinson and left fielder Gabe Roessler each hit home runs for the Bears.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty advances to its first CUSA Championship game. The Flames will play in a conference championship for the first time since 2022. The Flames fell to Kennesaw State in the 2022 ASUN Championship, 10-6, in Fort Myers, Fla.
- The game was suspended at 8:48 p.m. in the middle of the sixth inning on Friday evening due to lightning in the Kennesaw, Ga., area.
- The 2026 Flames become the fourth team in program history to win 41 or more games in a season. The last to win 41 games was the 2019 team, which tied the school record with 43 wins. The 2010 (43), 2013 (41) and 2014 (41) teams also won 41 or more games in a season.
- Campos records his 15th multi-hit game of the season.
- With his two hits, Jaffe posts his 22nd multi-hit game of the year. The third baseman has at least one hit in each of Liberty's CUSA Baseball Championship games.
- August leads the Flames with 26 appearances, all in relief.
- Harrington records his 13th save of the year. He is currently fourth in the country in saves. The right-hander ties Evan Brabrand (2019) for second on the Liberty single-season save list.
Up Next
Liberty advances to the CUSA Championship title game. The Flames will face the No. 1 seed Jax State Gamecocks. Game time is scheduled for Noon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Zayac, Bradley (9-0)
L: Brock Lucas (6-5)
S: Harrington, Cooper (13)
Batting:
HR: Bobby Atkinson 1 ; Gabe Roessler 1
RBI: Taeg Gollert 1 ; Caden Bogenpohl 2 ; Bobby Atkinson 1 ; Gabe Roessler 1
SF: Taeg Gollert 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bryce Cermenelli 2 ; Logan Fyffe 1 ; Bobby Atkinson 1 ; Gabe Roessler 1
HBP: Logan Fyffe 1 ; Curry Sutherland 1 ; Jax Ryan 1
Batting:
2B: Swofford, Easton 1
3B: Campos, Josh 1
RBI: Marsh, Tanner 1 ; DeCandido, Riley 1 ; Sorenson, Jaxon 1 ; Barone, Nick 1 ; Swofford, Easton 2 ; Campos, Josh 1
SF: DeCandido, Riley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Marsh, Tanner 2 ; DeCandido, Riley 2 ; Jaffe, Jordan 1 ; Hvidsten, Kyle 1 ; Campos, Josh 1
SB: DeCandido, Riley 1 ; Scilley, Landon 1
CS: Barone, Nick 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP
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RHP
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/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballCUSA Championship: Flames Shut Out LA Tech 6-0
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Coach LeCroy, Josh Campos & Jake Potts Talk About The Win Over LA Tech
Friday, May 22
CUSA Championship: Liberty Defeats Sam Houston 10-4
Thursday, May 21
Coach LeCroy, Kyle Hvidsten & Ben Blair Talk About The Win Over SHSU
Thursday, May 21