Liberty (36-16) (19-8) faced a bit of adversity this week, which marks their worst of the season. Thanks to a midweek loss to Virginia Tech and then dropping the first two games in their weekend series versus LA Tech, the Flames experienced their first three-game losing streak of the season. Despite the tough week, the Flames were able to salvage Game 3 of the series on Sunday and maintain their spot of second in the conference.
Wednesday: LIBERTY 4, VIRGINIA TECH 8
Liberty’s late push came up short Wednesday night, as Virginia Tech built an early lead and held off a seventh-inning rally to defeat the Flames 8-4 at Worthington Field.
The Hokies controlled this game from start to finish, holding the Flames hitless until the seventh inning, while also maintaining a 7-0 advantage until the bottom of the seventh.
The Flames would rally, as Easton Swofford delivered Liberty’s first hit of the game, igniting a stretch of five consecutive hits that produced four runs. Josh Campos delivered a bases-clearing double, and Tanner Marsh followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 7-4. The Hokies would add an insurance run the following inning and the Flames would be held scoreless for the final two innings as Virginia Tech ended Liberty’s 6-game win streak.
Friday Game 1: LIBERTY 3, LOUISIANA TECH 9
Liberty could not stop a blazing-hot Bulldogs team Friday night, as LA Tech took Game 1 of the series.
The Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead after three innings, before Liberty responded with a DeCandido single, which drove in Josh Campos. Through six, the Bulldogs led 5-3, as that would be the final inning in which Liberty scored. Liberty ace Ben Blair made it through six innings, taking the loss for Liberty after giving up five runs on five hits. Blair did strike out nine batters on the day.
Tanner Marsh and Landon Scilley led the Flames offensively with two hits apiece, accounting for more than half of Liberty’s seven hits on the night. Louisiana Tech pulled away late with four runs over the final two innings to secure the victory, handing Liberty its second consecutive loss.
Saturday Game 2: LIBERTY 7, LOUISIANA TECH 9
The Flames gave up nine runs for a second consecutive game as the Bulldogs took Game 2 and the series on Saturday.
The Bulldogs set the tone in the opening inning, scoring three runs and building a 6-1 lead through five innings. In the seventh inning, Liberty would rally in a huge way, as Tanner Marsh launched a grand slam to pull the Flames within one at 6-5. Unfortunately, Louisiana Tech answered immediately, plating two runs in the seventh and adding another in the eighth to regain control and secure the victory.
Jaxon Lucas suffered the loss, allowing 4 earned runs in 3.1 innings pitched. This loss gave Liberty its first three-game losing streak of the season and marked the first time the Flames suffered back-to-back conference losses.
Sunday Game 3: LIBERTY 3, LOUISIANA TECH 2
Liberty held off LA Tech for a 3-2 Mother’s Day win to avoid a series sweep.
The Flames offense did its damage early on Sunday afternoon, as Liberty plated two runs in the second inning on an RBI single by Easton Swofford before adding another run in the third to build a 3-0 lead.
From there, Bradley Zayac took control on the mound. Zayac remained perfect on the season, earning the win (8-0), delivering seven solid innings while allowing just two runs. Louisiana Tech was able to cut the deficit to one with a pair of runs in the fifth, but Liberty’s bullpen shut the door the rest of the way, as Tyler August retired all three batters he faced in the eighth, and Cooper Harrington closed out the game with a scoreless ninth to secure the victory.
This game saw Tanner Marsh extend his hit streak to 16 games, which marks a career-high, while both he and Nick Barone improved their on-base streak to 33 games. This win marked Liberty’s 36th of the season, marking the most wins for Liberty Baseball in a single year since 2022 (the last time Liberty qualified for NCAA Regionals).
UP NEXT:
Liberty (36-16) (19-8) will open the week at home with Wake Forest (35-17) (14-13) to begin the last week of the regular season. The Demon Deacons run ruled the Flames in the first meeting, winning 11-0 back in March. Ranked 18th in RPI, this game offers the Flames a marquee resume-building opportunity and perhaps could be the solidifying win Liberty needs to punch their ticket to a Regional. First pitch will be at 6:00 PM, and you can watch the game on ESPN+.
The Flames will then pivot to the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (24-27) (11-16) for the final series of the season. The Blue Raiders are coming off three straight CUSA series losses, the most recent being this past weekend to FIU in Miami. While winning the CUSA regular season title is a stretch, Liberty does have a shot to win a share of the title and the number one overall seed in the tournament if the Flames sweep MTSU and Jacksonville State gets swept by Dallas Baptist. More importantly, this series is a must-win if the Flames look to remain off the bubble for an NCAA Regionals bid. The first pitch of the series will be on Thursday night at 7:00 PM ET. The entire series will be streamed on ESPN+.
AT-Large Case?
Despite going 1-3 last week, Liberty still has a strong case for an at-large bid, should the Flames not win the CUSA Tournament. Liberty currently stands at 35th in the country in RPI. The Flames currently have a 5-7 Quad 1 record. Liberty’s Quad 1 wins came at home against Missouri State and West Virginia, and then on the road against Virginia Tech, High Point, and NC State. Liberty will have one more Quad 1 opportunity on its schedule against Wake Forest on Wednesday. WarrenNolan.com projects that to be a Liberty loss. Liberty’s last CUSA series games against Middle Tennessee will all be Quad 3 opportunities. While these games may not offer statement resume wins (both Quad 3 games), they are very crucial for not only remaining alive in the CUSA regular season title race, but also so the Flames do not drop too low in the ratings and potentially ruin their case for an at-large bid.
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
| Team | CUSA | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| Jax State | 22-5 | 40-11 |
| Liberty | 19-8 | 36-16 |
| Missouri State | 18-9 | 30-17 |
| LA Tech | 17-10 | 31-22 |
| Dallas Baptist | 17-10 | 29-23 |
| WKU | 13-14 | 28-24 |
| Kennesaw State | 12-15 | 24-24 |
| Sam Houston | 12-15 | 23-29 |
| MTSU | 11-16 | 24-27 |
| NM State | 8-19 | 19-31 |
| FIU | 8-19 | 17-34 |
| Delaware | 5-22 | 17-34 |
Through the latest weekend of Conference USA play, Liberty sits in second place in the league standings with a 19-8 conference record and a 36-16 overall mark. The Flames trail Jacksonville State Gamecocks, who have clinched at least a share of the conference at 22-5, while maintaining separation from a tightly packed group behind them, including Missouri State Bears baseball (18-9) and both Louisiana Tech Bulldogs baseball and Dallas Baptist Patriots baseball (17-10). With the final week of the season upon us, Liberty remains firmly in contention for a top-2 seed in the CUSA Tournament. This upcoming series against MTSU carries significant implications for conference positioning. While Liberty holds the head-to-head over Dallas Baptist, they do not over LA Tech and Missouri State. The Flames also hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Jax State should they get swept by DBU this weekend. The Flames will need to take care of business versus the Blue Raiders, but will also be Patriots fans and hoping Dallas Baptist can give Liberty a shot at the 1-Seed in the CUSA Tournament.
