Liberty scores 2 in the 9th, rallies to defeat Boston College

3-seed Liberty (42-19) rallied with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning to defeat 2-seed Boston College (36-22), 4-3, in the first game of the Athens Regional on Friday afternoon. With the win, the Flames move into the winner’s bracket and will play the winner of the #3 national seed Georgia and this region’s 4-seed Long Island on Saturday evening at 5 p.m.

“I told the guys, ‘that’s what we do,'” said Liberty head coach Bradley LeCroy. “I wish we wouldn’t. I’m getting too old for this, but what great fight and belief and toughness this group has. We found a way to win.”

Making its ninth NCAA Regional appearance and its first under second-year head coach Bradley LeCroy, Liberty jumped on top of the ACC’s fourth place team with a pair of runs in the top of the first after four straight batters reached base. Jaxon Sorenson and Nick Barone had RBI singles to drive in Riley DeCandido and Jordan Jaffe.

The Flames handed the 2-0 lead over to CUSA Pitcher of the Year Ben Blair. He worked around a pair of 1-out singles in the bottom of the first before settling in to hang four consecutive zeros to begin the game.

Liberty would threaten frequently throughout the game, putting runners on base in every inning but unable to extend the lead. After starting the game 2 for 2 at the plate with runners in scoring position to score those two first inning runs, the Flames would not record a base hit the rest of the game with runners in scoring position, going 2 for 14 for the game. Liberty was also 3 for 3 in the first inning with runners on base, but finished the game 5 for 24 while leaving 11 runners on base.

The offense’s inability to plate runners in opportune times throughout much of the game kept Boston College within striking distance. With the score still 2-0 in the bottom of the 5th, the Eagles’ leadoff hitter Julio Solier was able to blast a solo home run to center field, cutting their deficit to 2-1. Solier, who had just one career home run entering Friday, hit his second one of the day in his next at bat to tie the game at 2 in the seventh inning.

The Eagles entered this weekend 16th out of 16 ACC teams with 40 home runs in 57 games. That number had them sitting 226th out of 304 Division I teams. But they did all of their damage against the Flames on Friday with the long ball. Jack Toomey’s solo shot off Liberty reliever Tyler August in the bottom of the eighth gave BC its first lead of the day at 3-2 entering the top of the ninth, just three outs away from the win.

Tanner Marsh led off the ninth for the Flames with a single to right field. DeCandido then doubled to center, putting the game tying and leading runners in scoring position with nobody out. Jaffee grounded out to second, but was able to bring Marsh in to tie the game. Sorenson then grounded to short and DeCandido was able to slide in safe despite the infield playing in to give Liberty the lead at 4-3.

“We just had to have a good plan,” LeCroy said of the team’s approach in the ninth inning. “We had the right guys up. (Tanner) with a great at bat. Then, Riley with a good swing on the breaking ball. Something we didn’t do early in the game, we didn’t situational hit at all. We left a lot of people out there. (Jaffe) did a great job. Then, Jaxon did a great job on a 3-2 count, putting the ball in play. We ran a down angle and put pressure on them and Riley was able to score.”

Liberty closer Cooper Harrington came on for the ninth inning. After hitting the first batter, he retired the next three to secure his 14th save of the season. Josh Campos recorded the final out with a nice sliding catch from his position in center. Harrington’s 14 saves are the second most in a single season in program history and just two away from tying Josh Brey for the single season record of 16 set in 2000.

August picked up the win to improve to 7-0 on the season. He pitched just one inning, allowing the one home run and striking out run. Blair had the no decision, pitching seven innings, scattering eight hits and allowing two runs while striking out seven. He did not issue a free pass.

“He was outstanding,” LeCroy said of Blair. “He emptied the tank for us. He had total control the entire game, made some huge pitches with two outs. Solier got him twice. One of them was a really good pitch, the other one he left over the middle of the plate, but to win game one of a regional, you have to have a great start like that. Ben was outstanding for us.”

Marsh led the Flames with three hits on the afternoon in his five plate appearances. He had two doubles and scored a run. Sorenson, Nick Barone, and Landon Scilley each had two hits while Sorenson also had two RBI.

The win is Liberty’s 24th come from behind win of the season. The team’s 9th when trailing after seven innings and 4th when trailing in the ninth inning. The Flames also picked up its first regional win since 2021 when the team beat Duke twice that season, advancing to the Regional Final before falling to Tennessee. Liberty is now 4-1 in neutral site games and 23-7 in games played away from home this season..