Friday, May 29
12:00 PM ET
Liberty University
42-19
4
vs
3
Boston College
36-22
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIBERTY | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 1 |
| Boston College | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
Flames Plate 2 in 9th Inning to Top Boston College 4-3 to Start Regional
5/29/2026 4:44:00 PM | Baseball
ATHENS, GA. – Trailing by a run in the top of the ninth inning, the Liberty Flames struck for two runs to take the lead and then went on to slip past the Boston College Eagles 4-3 in the NCAA Athens, Ga., Regional at Foley Field on Friday afternoon.
After Boston College right fielder Jake Toomey hit the third Eagle solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to give the Eagles a 3-2 edge, Liberty rallied in the top of the ninth to take the lead. Shortstop Tanner Marsh led off the inning with a single and moved to third on a double by designated hitter Riley DeCandido. Third baseman Jordan Jaffe tied the game at 3-3 with an RBI groundout to score Marsh and first baseman Jaxon Sorenson followed with a fielder's choice ground ball to plate DeCandido for a 4-3 advantage.
In the bottom of the ninth, Boston College got the leadoff man on against Liberty closer Cooper Harrington, but he shut the door, stranding the tying run on second to seal the victory.
Through the first seven innings, Liberty starting pitcher Ben Blair and Boston College starter AJ Colarusso locked up in a pitchers' duel, each giving up two runs. The Flames jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning but were then held scoreless by Colarusso through the rest of his seven-inning outing.
Blair's only blemishes over his seven innings of work were two solo home runs by Eagles' shortstop Julio Solier.
Marsh led all hitters in the game with three hits. Sorenson had two hits and two RBI for the Flames.
Liberty moves to 42-19 on the season. Boston College drops to 36-22.
Box Score Highlights
Records: Liberty (42-19); Boston College (36-22)
Location: Athens, Ga. (Foley Field)
WP: Tyler August (7-0) | LP: Gavin Soares (1-3) | SV: Harrington (14)
Scoring Summary
1st – LIBERTY – Sorenson singles, DeCandido scores, 1-0
1st – LIBERTY – Barone singles, Jaffe scores, 2-0
5th – BC – Solier homers, 2-1
7th – BC – Solier homers, 2-2
8th – BC – Toomey homers, 3-2
9th – LIBERTY – Jaffe grounds out, Marsh scores, 3-3
9th – LIBERTY – Sorenson grounds into a fielder's choice, DeCandido scores, 4-3
Notable Numbers
- Liberty outhit Boston College, 13-9, in the game. The Flames committed the game's only error.
- The Flames left 11 men on base. The Eagles left seven men on base.
- Left fielder Nick Barone and Landon Scilly joined Sorenson with two hits in the game. Barone had an RBI.
- Three Flames pitchers combined not to walk a batter in the game.
- Liberty right-hander Blair did not figure in the decision. The right-hander gave up two runs on eight hits over seven innings. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.
- Flames reliever Tyler August runs his record to 7-0. He allowed one run on one hit in the eighth inning. He struck out a batter.
- Harrington, who entered the game among the national leaders in the saves, earns his 14th of the year.
- Boston College starter Colarusso did not figure in the decision. He gave up two runs on 10 hits. He struck out six and walked two.
- Reliever Gavin Soares takes the loss for the Eagles. He allowed two runs on three hits over two innings. He struck out three and walked one.
- Solier hit his second and third home runs of the season for Boston College.
- Toomey hit his fourth home run of the season.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty's NCAA Regional appearance was its ninth in program history and first under second-year head coach Bradley LeCroy. The Flames' last appearance was in 2022.
- Today's contest was the first-ever meeting between the Flames and Eagles on the baseball diamond.
- Liberty has won 10 games this season when tied or trailing after seven innings and eight games when tied or trailing after eight innings this season.
- Marsh had three hits in the contest to post his team-leading 24th multi-hit game of the season and his sixth three-hit game of the year. One of the shortstop's hits was his team-leading 18th double. In addition, Marsh scored the tying run in the ninth inning to tie Chad Miller (2006) with 69 runs scored.
- Sorenson collected his 13th multi-hit game. With 49 RBI, the first baseman is one RBI shy of knocking in 50 runs for the second straight season.
- Barone records his 22nd multi-hit game and his third in the last five games.
- Blair struck out seven batters. The right-hander now has 113 on the season, second-most in a single season in program history. Benji Miller holds the Liberty single-season record with 119. Blair also moves into sole possession of third place on the Flames' career strikeout list with 249.
Up Next
Liberty will play the winner of the national No. 3 seed and regional host Georgia and Long Island later tonight at Foley Field tomorrow. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.
After Boston College right fielder Jake Toomey hit the third Eagle solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to give the Eagles a 3-2 edge, Liberty rallied in the top of the ninth to take the lead. Shortstop Tanner Marsh led off the inning with a single and moved to third on a double by designated hitter Riley DeCandido. Third baseman Jordan Jaffe tied the game at 3-3 with an RBI groundout to score Marsh and first baseman Jaxon Sorenson followed with a fielder's choice ground ball to plate DeCandido for a 4-3 advantage.
In the bottom of the ninth, Boston College got the leadoff man on against Liberty closer Cooper Harrington, but he shut the door, stranding the tying run on second to seal the victory.
Through the first seven innings, Liberty starting pitcher Ben Blair and Boston College starter AJ Colarusso locked up in a pitchers' duel, each giving up two runs. The Flames jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning but were then held scoreless by Colarusso through the rest of his seven-inning outing.
Blair's only blemishes over his seven innings of work were two solo home runs by Eagles' shortstop Julio Solier.
Marsh led all hitters in the game with three hits. Sorenson had two hits and two RBI for the Flames.
Liberty moves to 42-19 on the season. Boston College drops to 36-22.
Box Score Highlights
Records: Liberty (42-19); Boston College (36-22)
Location: Athens, Ga. (Foley Field)
WP: Tyler August (7-0) | LP: Gavin Soares (1-3) | SV: Harrington (14)
Scoring Summary
1st – LIBERTY – Sorenson singles, DeCandido scores, 1-0
1st – LIBERTY – Barone singles, Jaffe scores, 2-0
5th – BC – Solier homers, 2-1
7th – BC – Solier homers, 2-2
8th – BC – Toomey homers, 3-2
9th – LIBERTY – Jaffe grounds out, Marsh scores, 3-3
9th – LIBERTY – Sorenson grounds into a fielder's choice, DeCandido scores, 4-3
Notable Numbers
- Liberty outhit Boston College, 13-9, in the game. The Flames committed the game's only error.
- The Flames left 11 men on base. The Eagles left seven men on base.
- Left fielder Nick Barone and Landon Scilly joined Sorenson with two hits in the game. Barone had an RBI.
- Three Flames pitchers combined not to walk a batter in the game.
- Liberty right-hander Blair did not figure in the decision. The right-hander gave up two runs on eight hits over seven innings. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.
- Flames reliever Tyler August runs his record to 7-0. He allowed one run on one hit in the eighth inning. He struck out a batter.
- Harrington, who entered the game among the national leaders in the saves, earns his 14th of the year.
- Boston College starter Colarusso did not figure in the decision. He gave up two runs on 10 hits. He struck out six and walked two.
- Reliever Gavin Soares takes the loss for the Eagles. He allowed two runs on three hits over two innings. He struck out three and walked one.
- Solier hit his second and third home runs of the season for Boston College.
- Toomey hit his fourth home run of the season.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty's NCAA Regional appearance was its ninth in program history and first under second-year head coach Bradley LeCroy. The Flames' last appearance was in 2022.
- Today's contest was the first-ever meeting between the Flames and Eagles on the baseball diamond.
- Liberty has won 10 games this season when tied or trailing after seven innings and eight games when tied or trailing after eight innings this season.
- Marsh had three hits in the contest to post his team-leading 24th multi-hit game of the season and his sixth three-hit game of the year. One of the shortstop's hits was his team-leading 18th double. In addition, Marsh scored the tying run in the ninth inning to tie Chad Miller (2006) with 69 runs scored.
- Sorenson collected his 13th multi-hit game. With 49 RBI, the first baseman is one RBI shy of knocking in 50 runs for the second straight season.
- Barone records his 22nd multi-hit game and his third in the last five games.
- Blair struck out seven batters. The right-hander now has 113 on the season, second-most in a single season in program history. Benji Miller holds the Liberty single-season record with 119. Blair also moves into sole possession of third place on the Flames' career strikeout list with 249.
Up Next
Liberty will play the winner of the national No. 3 seed and regional host Georgia and Long Island later tonight at Foley Field tomorrow. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.
FLAMES TAKE THE LEAD??
— Liberty Baseball (@LibertyBaseball) May 29, 2026
?? @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/3xDzeygu7F
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: August, Tyler (7-0)
L: Gavin Soares (1-3)
S: Harrington, Cooper (14)
Batting:
2B: Marsh, Tanner 2 ; DeCandido, Riley 1 ; Barone, Nick 1 ; Scilley, Landon 1
RBI: Jaffe, Jordan 1 ; Sorenson, Jaxon 2 ; Barone, Nick 1
SH: DeCandido, Riley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Marsh, Tanner 1 ; DeCandido, Riley 2 ; Jaffe, Jordan 1
CS: DeCandido, Riley 1
HBP: DeCandido, Riley 1
Batting:
HR: Julio Solier 2 ; Jack Toomey 1
RBI: Julio Solier 2 ; Jack Toomey 1
SH: Ben Williams 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Julio Solier 2 ; Jack Toomey 1
HBP: Luke Gallo 1 ; Gunnar Johnson 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballLU Rallies For A 4-3 Victory Over Boston College
Friday, May 29
Coach LeCroy, Riley DeCandido & Tanner Marsh Talk About The Win Over Boston College
Friday, May 29
Coach LeCroy, Nick Barone & Ben Blair Talk About Preparing For Boston College
Thursday, May 28
Coach LeCroy & Ben Blair Talk About Their NCAA Tournament Matchup Against Boston College
Monday, May 25