Dropping its first Conference USA series of the year, Liberty baseball was swept by Western Kentucky this weekend. The Flames drop to 9-6 in conference play and 17-22 overall.

TUESDAY: #16 VCU 2, LIBERTY 1

The VCU Rams picked up the win over Liberty on Tuesday evening at the Diamond in Richmond. VCU takes both midweek games against Liberty this season after defeating the Flames 8-7 in Lynchburg earlier this season.

Three Rams pitchers combined to hold the Flames to one run on six hits, while three Flames pitchers combined to allow two runs on eight hits in the game. No batter from either team had more than one hit in the game.

VCU starter Jack Hoeymans pitched out of Liberty scoring threats in the first and second innings and Rams reliever Owen Tappy held the tying run at second base with one out in the seventh inning. The Flames went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position in the game.

Flames’ starter Josh Swink took the loss. He gave up two runs on five hits over 2.1 innings. He struck out one and walked one. Liberty relievers Cale Bolton and Talor Grubbs combined to not allow a run over the final 5.2 innings.

FRIDAY: WESTERN KENTUCKY 6, LIBERTY 4

In the first ever meeting between Liberty and Western Kentucky on the diamond, the Hilltoppers picked up the win in the series opener on Friday night at Nick Denes Field in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

With the score tied in the fourth, a three-run home run by shortstop Zayd Brannigan gave the Hilltoppers the lead for good. The Flames would cut their hosts’ advantage to one with two runs in the seventh, only two see WKU get an insurance run in the bottom of the inning for the final score.

Cam Foster had two hits in the game, including his sixth home run of the year. Macaddin Dye hit his fifth home run of the season. Eight of the 10 runs scored in the game came by the way of a home run.

Liberty starter Cole Hertzler took the loss. He gave up five runs on three hits while striking out six and walking four. He had won four straight contests and was 4-0 against CUSA opponents entering the game.

SATURDAY: WESTERN KENTUCKY 10, LIBERTY 7

In game two on Saturday, the WKU Hilltoppers came from behind to pull out a 10-7 victory over the Flames. By winning the first two games of the series, the Hilltoppers have moved into first place in the CUSA Standings.

Falling behind 4-0 after two innings, Liberty scored six unanswered to take a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the fifth. However, Western Kentucky whittled away at the Flames’ lead and went in front for good with three runs in the seventh inning en route to the victory.

Kane Kepley had three hits with an RBI and a runs cored for Liberty. Teammate Macaddin Dye added two hits and drove in two runs. Aidan Sweatt joined Dye with two hits in the contest. He drove in a run with a single.

Reliever Ben Blair, the third of five Liberty pitchers in the game, takes the loss. Blair gave up four runs on five hits over 2.1 innings. He struck out one and walked one.

SUNDAY: WESTERN KENTUCKY 5, LIBERTY 4

On Sunday, WKU took the late lead and were able to hold on in the final innings to secure the series sweep. The Flames left 12 men on base and were 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position.

The host Hilltoppers took a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning on a home run by Jaylin Ray and then had to hold off the Flames. In the eighth inning, Liberty moved the tying run into scoring position at second base with one out and loaded the bases with two outs but could not push the tying run across. Then in the ninth, the Flames moved runners to second and third with one out but WKU reliever Mason Burns was able to keep the runners from scoring by retiring the next two batters to close out the victory.

For the second consecutive day, Flames center fielder Kane Kepley had three hits. He also connected for his sixth home run of the season in the contest. Brayden Horton also hit his team leading ninth home run of the year for Liberty in the contest.

Liberty used four pitchers in the contest with Todd Hudson getting the start. He pitched a career high five innings on the afternoon. Reliever Cale Bolton, the second Flames pitcher in the game, takes the loss. He gave up one run on one hit in one innings of work. He struck out one and walked one.

The Hilltoppers have now surged into first place in the CUSA Standings with a sweep of Liberty.

Up Next: The Flames will now travel to Charlottesville, Virginia to take on No. 10 Virginia on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. Liberty will remain out of conference this weekend, heading to Birmingham, Alabama to take on Samford for a three game series.

Current CUSA Standings

Western Kentucky…11-4, 29-12
Louisiana Tech……8-4, 29-13
FIU………………………..10-5, 23-17
Liberty…………………9-6, 17-22
Dallas Baptist……..7-5, 28-10
Sam Houston……….7-8, 24-16
Jax State……………..3-9, 14-23
Middle Tenn………….4-11, 13-26
NMSU…………………..4-11, 17-22