Similar to Friday’s regional opener against Duke, Liberty’s bats came to life in the early innings as the Flames coasted to a second win in three days over the ACC Champion Blue Devils. Liberty scored eight runs in the first inning on their way to a 15-4 win, eliminating Duke from the Knoxville Regional.
The Flames now get a rematch with the No. 1 seed in the region, the No. 3 national seed and regional host, Tennessee in the regional final with first pitch scheduled for 6:46 pm ET on Sunday. The Volunteers, 2-0 in the regional, need just one win to advance to the Super Regionals, while Liberty must win two games against UT. If the Flames win Sunday night, the decisive game will be on Monday at 1 pm.
After a 40-minute rain delay, Sunday afternoon’s game between the No. 2 seed Duke and No. 3 seed Liberty finally got started and the Flames wasted no time to make some noise. In the bottom of the first inning, Liberty sent 13 batters to the plate while Duke needed three pitchers to get through the frame. Jaylen Guy blasted a grand slam and the Blue Devils walked two with the bases loaded as the Flames led 8-0 at the end of the first inning.
Lefty Mason Meyer made the start for the Flames, looking for a similar outing to what Liberty got out of the veteran one week ago in an elimination game against North Florida in the ASUN Tournament. In that game, Meyer picked up the win while allowing two runs in 6.2 innings pitched. He was even better on Sunday in Knoxville, as he pitched the complete game, his first of the season, surrendering four runs, and allowing the Flames to keep the bullpen rested for the doubleheader.
Duke would hit a two-run home run in the third to bring the game within six at 8-2, but they never got closer. The Flames would end any hope the Blue Devils possibly had with a five-run eighth inning, pushing the Liberty lead to 15-3. Guy finished with a team-leading five RBIs and robbed a home run in center field to go along with his grand slam in the first inning. It was one of three home runs for the Flames in the game, as Trey McDyre and Logan Mathieu each added to the tally.
