Liberty softball takes two of three in weekend series versus Hatters
The Liberty Flames softball team secured two wins over the weekend in a three-game series April 15-16 against ASUN opponent Stetson Hatters. The Lady Flames rallied hard with a result of two victories of 7-0 and 6-5, and a loss of 8-7.
Following their two victories in their doubleheader on Saturday, the Lady Flames arrived at the field ready for one last battle with the Hatters on Sunday morning. Liberty shut things down during the first inning, with three quick outs before giving the Hatters a chance to score. The inning closed out with a score of 1-0 after sophomore third baseman Rachel Craine hit a double to left field allowing sophomore catcher Caroline Hudson to score.
The Flames were able to maintain their lead in the second inning, but by the top of the third, things began to go downhill. Following a few infield errors, the bases were loaded. With two ensuing walks, the Hatters had two runners trotting to home plate.
The Flames made the switch to senior Emily Estroff on the mound, giving sophomore pitcher Paige Bachman a chance to rest. By the end of the inning, the Hatters were up 5-1.
“Emily Estroff came in strong pitching wise, (and) I am really pleased with her performance, striking out quite a few hitters,” Liberty Head Coach Dot Richardson said.
By the fourth inning, the Hatters had scored two more runs, but the Flames were determined to continue fighting. Junior first baseman Megan Fortner sent a home run flying out of left field, showing the Hatters that the Flames had no intention of going out with a whimper.
With their rally caps on, the Flames held the Hatters where they were in the fifth, ready to score some runs of their own. Sophomore outfielder KK Madrey made a stealthy steal to second before being sent home by a hit from sophomore outfielder Rachel Roupe. The Flames continued to put the bat to the ball, allowing more runners to advance and shifting the scoreboard to a 7-6 game.
“Our biggest challenge today was trying to move forward from our mistakes,” Craine said. “We are always hard on ourselves and stuck in our own heads instead of focusing on the fact that we are playing a team sport and we need to be there to back each other up.”
After a failed comeback attempt by the Flames, the Hatters left with Lynchburg with an 8-7 victory.
“The first two games we came out ready to go and played well as a team,” Fortner said. “Today’s game there are both positive and negative takeaways, but there is a lot to grow from, and I think this is going to be good for us, and we can use it to send us forward rather than letting it hold us back.”
Though the Flames’ costly errors in Sunday’s game handed the Hatters a win, Liberty claimed the series victory due to its doubleheader triumphs on Saturday. The Flames now stand at 28-15 with a conference record of 12-3.
“I am really proud of the team this weekend with the series against Stetson,” Richardson said. “We scored a lot of runs … but this third game of the series, we just had too many errors happen. We fought back, but as a result, we ran up short in today’s game.”
White is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion