Eagles torched by Flames

Liberty outscores Coppin State 29-1 in their three-game series

Liberty showed off all phases of its game in a weekend sweep of Coppin State. Shutdown pitching and defense in game one and sizzling bats in games two and three resulted in an overall 29-1 margin.

Game 1

Hot off of a big win against the University of Virginia’s 14th ranked Cavaliers, the Liberty baseball team delivered an electrifying shutout of the Coppin State University Eagles in game one of the Flames second home series.

Even though the bats were quiet for most of the game, Liberty’s pitching was key in the 2-0 victory over the Eagles.

Pitcher John Niggli was the star of the ballpark after his nine inning effort to earn his first shutout for the Flames. Niggli maintained his consistency and composure and finished the game with only two allowed hits, two walks and a career-high 12 strikeouts. The senior had a 1-2-3 inning five times and finished the day out by earning a K on nine consecutive batters.

“I knew I couldn’t give up any runs in the close game,” Niggli said. “Overall, it was a B plus day.”

The Flames obtained the lead early in the first inning when designated hitter Tyler Cox sacrificed on a fly ball, scoring Ian Parmley after the first three batters in the lineup got on base.

Liberty was able to hold onto the lead for the rest of the game, scoring once more in the seventh inning. Alex Close hit a one-hopper shot off the centerfield wall for a triple and then made his way home for the last run of the game off of a sacrifice fly by third basemen Dalton Sype.

“I thought that I did pretty good,” Sype said. “I just put the ball in play and I was fortunate enough to get two hits in the second game. I am not really known for my wheels, but I’ll take a triple when I can get it.”

Game 2

The Liberty Flames baseball team earned a decisive 14-0 win in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Worthington Stadium against the Coppin State University Eagles.

All nine players in the lineup crossed the plate in a 10-run feeding frenzy by the Flames offense in the second inning.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of anything like that, at least not since early in high school,” catcher Trey Wimmer said. “It was nice to see everybody get hot and hit the ball well. Even if they weren’t hitting the ball well, they could get across the plate and score us a run.”

Wimmer led the team with three RBIs, and shortstop Zack Haley was 2-for-2, coming around to score both times. Coming off a close 2-0 win in the first game of the day, the team enjoyed having a much bigger lead in the second game.

“After the first game, it was definitely reassuring that our bats were still there. We didn’t really bring it to the plate in the first game, but we showed up in the second,” Haley said.

Madison Neddo, Coppin State’s starting pitcher, could not escape the second inning and took the loss. He allowed 13 of Liberty’s 14 runs.

The Flames pitching staff, on the other hand, followed up their 2-0 win by allowing only three hits in seven scoreless innings.

Patrick Eckelbarger, Carson Herndon and Ashton Perritt combined for the shutout in a game where the Eagles failed to get a runner to second base.

One challenge that the Flames faced was staying focused and not letting the Eagles back into the game, but Eckelbarger made sure that didn’t happen. In the two innings following the offensive outburst, Eckelbarger struck out four Eagles and did not allow a baserunner.

Game 3

Liberty completed the sweep of the visiting Eagles Sunday in a 13-1 rout. Ian Parmley and Bryan Aanderund each collected three hits, respectively. Aanderund was responsible for five RBI’s.

Five of Liberty’s runs were courtesy of throwing errors. Coppin State had six total errors on an altogether forgettable day defensively for the Eagles.

With the sweep, Liberty lifts its record to 12-1 on the year, while Coppin State settles to 0-9.

“It’s definitely a lot better this year, going (12)-1,” Haley said. “We all feel that we could easily be (13)-0, but we didn’t show up one day. So we’re just trying to come out and show up every day now and not let that happen again.”