It’s April 10th, which means Liberty will be kicking off it’s series against Campbell tonight, and better yet…. 1$ HOT DOG NIGHT IS FINALLY HERE! Tonight I’ll partake in the devouring of seven hot dogs, due to a commitment I made to match Liberty’s accumulation of Ws over the past two weeks. Not going to lie, I’m pretty excited to have an excuse to eat that many hot dogs, but I fully expect that process could take a turn for the worst around hot dog #5 or so.
Results
Apr 02 6:00 @ Charleston Southern W, 3-1
Apr 03 4:00 @ Charleston Southern W, 10-0
Apr 04 2:00 @ Charleston Southern W, 2-1
Apr 06 6:00 @ ODU…………………..L, 5-1
Apr 08 6:00 @ North Carolina…….L, 6-0
Liberty’s sweep over Charleston Southern came from a huge performance from the Flames’ pitching staff. The weekend rotation of Clowers, Lyons, and Cole only allowed two earned runs, allowing the Bucs to plate only five all weekend. Lyons also claimed the Big South Pitcher of the Week award for his eight innings pitched against CSU.
Jared Lyons currently holds the best ERA of all eligible pitchers in the Big South with a 1.04. The second best ERA in the conference is a 1.75.
This could be a huge turning point for the Flames as they look for a consistent rotation to rely on down the stretch of the Big South Conference season. Surprisingly, this relegates Parker Bean to a midweek role. Bean, the only returner from last year’s dominant weekend rotation, has struggled a bit this year with a 6.14 ERA, but we’ve seen flashes of his old form. If he and Ashton Perritt (5.67 ERA) can turn things around, Liberty will be much closer to having the depth it will need to succeed in the postseason.
Unfortunately, Liberty is continuing to struggle in the midweek contests. Though the Flames pitched Clowers and Bean against UNC and ODU, it seems like the Flames just haven’t been able to match up with their midweek opponents’ pitching staffs. Liberty really needs to peg some quality midweek wins going forward because their current non-conference resume is pretty average to say the least.
FlameTrain
There is a literal Flame Train sitting out behind the right field bullpen right now. Still trying to decide if I think this is really cool or really cheesy.
Exciting addition to @LibertyBaseball Stadium today! Lot of work left. Will be fun for our fans! #FlameTrain pic.twitter.com/TUnrmW9YX1
— Mike Minyard (@MikeMinyard) April 2, 2015
Now for pretty much the most prestigious weekly baseball award given to a collegiate player, which athletes all across the southern side of the Lynchburg metropolitan area dream of one day winning, your FlamesNation Player of the Week.
Ashton Perritt
Perritt was on fire this past, notching at least two hits in every game of the Charleston Southern series, including a four hit game in the Friday match-up. The freak athlete has been torching opponents lately after a slow start to the season.
Perritt has been able to raise his average up to .293, while slugging .512, good for second on the team.
Upcoming
Apr 10 7:00 vs Campbell
Apr 11 3:00 vs Campbell
Apr 12 2:00 vs Campbell
Apr 14 4:00 vs Maryland
Apr 15 3:00 @ The Citadel
Don’t forget to come out to 1$ Hot Dog Night tonight!
