Liberty (38-18) (21-9) closed out the 2026 regular season with a mixed bag of results, dropping its midweek finale at home before battling through a road series at Middle Tennessee to secure a series win and regain momentum.
After falling in five of six games entering the weekend, the Flames responded with a statement performance on Saturday and a clutch come-from-behind victory in the finale to win their CUSA series finale and remain in position to make an NCAA Regionals bid.
With the regular season in the rearview and momentum back on its side, Liberty now turns its focus toward postseason play. The Flames are the No. 2 seed in this week’s Conference USA Baseball Championship, as Liberty hopes for a deep postseason run beginning in Kennesaw.
Tuesday: LIBERTY 5, WAKE FOREST 7
Wake Forest defeated Liberty to complete the season sweep and spoil the Flames’ last home game of the season on Tuesday night.
Liberty battled back from an early 3-0 deficit, scoring four runs in the second inning to take the lead. The Flames later tied the game at 5-5 in the fourth, but Wake Forest answered with the go-ahead run in the fifth and never lost control. The Demon Deacons’ bullpen proved to be the difference, holding Liberty scoreless over the final five innings to secure the win.
Riley DeCandido led the Flames offensively, going 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored, while Liberty dropped its fourth game in the last five contests.
Thursday Game 1: LIBERTY 1, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 8
The Blue Raiders jumped on the Flames early and dominated throughout in Game 1 of the weekend series.
The Blue Raiders broke the game open with eight unanswered runs across the second, third, and fourth innings, building a commanding 8-0 lead. Liberty managed its lone run in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Landon Scilley, but could not generate further offense. MTSU outhit the Flames 11-8, but Liberty left 11 men on base throughout the contest, which could have been all the difference.
Ben Blair took another loss for the Flames, falling to 6-5 on the year. Blair gave up eight runs (five earned) on eight hits in just four innings. This game marked the first time since February 21st that the Flames scored less than three runs in a game.
Friday Game 2: LIBERTY 10, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 2
The Flames responded with a huge win in Game 2 on Friday night at Reese Smith Jr. Field.
After a scoreless first inning, the Flames struck in the second on a two-run homer from Ryan Drumm. Campos homered in the third to extend Liberty’s lead to 3-0. The Flames broke the game open in the seventh, beginning with Ryan Drumm’s second homer of the game, and concluded with an Easton Swofford grand slam to give Liberty a 10-0 lead. The Blue Raiders would tack on two, but it would not be enough as Liberty evened the series.
On the mound, Josh Swink delivered a dominant outing, allowing just two runs over a career-high seven innings to keep the Blue Raiders in check and to earn his third win of the season. This win gave the Flames their 20th conference win in 2026, which marks the first time since 2014 that Liberty Baseball has won 20+ conference games in a season.
Saturday Game 3: LIBERTY 8, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 7
Liberty closed out the regular season with a come-from-behind victory on Saturday afternoon to win the weekend series.
After a slow start, the Flames scored five runs in the fifth inning and took the lead off of a DeCandido homer and increased the lead later in the inning off a DeCandido ground out (5-3). MTSU would respond, scoring four runs over the next two innings as Liberty trailed 7-5 heading into the 8th. Riley DeCandido continued his great game, driving in his fifth run on the day with a two-run single to tie the game. In the ninth, Kyle Hvidsten came through with a go-ahead RBI single to give the Flames the lead for good.
Cooper Harrington shut the door in the bottom half, retiring all three batters he faced to secure the win. This win secured a 2-seed for Liberty in this week’s CUSA Tournament and their 21-9 CUSA finish was the first winning season in conference play for the Flames since joining the conference. Liberty went a perfect 5-0 in CUSA road series in 2026.
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Liberty (38-18) (21-9) earned the 2-seed in this week’s Conference USA Tournament, as the Flames will start pool play in “Pool B.”
Pool B includes 2-seed Liberty, 5-seed Lousiana Tech (33-23) (19-1), and 8-seed Sam Houston State (24-32) (13-17). All three teams will face each other in a round robin style. The top team from each pool plus a wild card team will advance to compete in bracket play on Saturday. The tiebreaker for the wild card position goes to the highest remaining seed with the best record in pool play. This tiebreaker helps Liberty as the 2-seed and should the Flames fail to be the winner of Pool B, they would still advance to the semifinal round with a single win unless No 1 Jacksonville State also found themselves in the same scenario. If the Flames go 0-2 in pool play, they will be eliminated.
Paths to advance from Pool B:
- Liberty goes 2-0 in pool play, winning Pool B.
- All three teams in Pool B go 1-1 in pool play, Liberty will win tiebreaker by virtue of being higher seeded team.
- Liberty goes 1-1 in pool play AND Jacksonville State wins Pool A.
No 2 Liberty will open tournament play on Thursday against No 8 Sam Houston at 10 AM, who will have faced No 5 LA Tech the day prior. The Flames will conclude pool play against the Bulldogs on Friday at 10 AM as well.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 20 (ESPN+)
Game 1 No. 8 Sam Houston vs. No. 5 LA Tech (Pool B) 10:00 a.m.
Game 2 No. 9 MTSU vs. No. 6 WKU (Pool A) 1:30 p.m.
Game 3 No. 7 Kennesaw State vs. No. 4 DBU (Pool C) 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 21 (ESPN+)
Game 4 No. 2 Liberty vs. No. 8 Sam Houston (Pool B) 10:00 a.m.
Game 5 No. 1 Jax State vs. No. 6 WKU (Pool A) 1:30 p.m.
Game 6 No. 3 Missouri State vs. No. 7 Kennesaw State (Pool C) 5:00 p.m.
Friday, May 22 (ESPN+)
Game 7 No. 5 LA Tech vs. No. 2 Liberty (Pool B) 10:00 a.m.
Game 8 No. 6 WKU vs. No. 1 Jax State (Pool A) 1:30 p.m.
Game 9 No. 4 DBU vs. No. 3 Missouri State (Pool C) 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 23 (ESPN+)
Game 10 Semifinal Round 11:00 a.m.
Game 11 Semifinal Round 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 24 (CBS Sports Network)
Game 12 Championship Game 1:00 p.m.
AT-Large Case?
With a 2-2 week, Liberty still has a strong case for an at-large bid, should the Flames not win the CUSA Tournament, although the Flames have probably fallen off the 2-seed line. Liberty currently stands at 36th in the country in RPI. The Flames currently have a 6-7 Quad 1 record. Liberty’s Quad 1 wins came at home against West Virginia, and then on the road against Virginia Tech, High Point, The Citadel, and NC State. Liberty will have at least two more opportunities to build its resume against Sam Houston and LA Tech. Sam Houston State sits at 175 in RPI, which will pose a Quad 4 game for Liberty. LA Tech, on the other hand, sits at 72, which will be a Quad 2 game for Liberty. If the Flames go 0-2, things could get sweaty on Selection Day, however, one or two wins should solidify Liberty as an at large and a 3 Seed in an NCAA Regional if the Flames fail to win the CUSA Tournament and the league’s automatic bid this week.
