Liberty (29-23, 9-15 CUSA) will host No. 24 Dallas Baptist (36-13, 19-5) in the final Conference USA series of the regular season this weekend.
The three-game series is scheduled to begin Thursday at 6 p.m., with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday and all games streaming on ESPN+ from Liberty Baseball Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia.
It will be the first-ever meeting between the two clubs in Lynchburg. The Flames and Patriots have only met once previously, a three-game series in Dallas last year. DBU won all three games played at Horner Ballpark, leading the all-time series, 3-0. The defending CUSA champions, DBU enters this week atop the league’s standings with a 19-5 record as they look to wrap up the conference regular season title this weekend. Head coach Dan Heefner has guided Dallas Baptist to an NCAA Regional in each of the last 10 seasons and 12 out of the past 13 years. The Patriots have posted a 688-339-1 record during Heefner’s 17 years at the helm of the program.
The Patriots are coming off a sweep of Kenensaw State last weekend, marking their sixth series sweep of the season. DBU has won 12 of their 13 weekend series this year. Meanwhile, the Flames are coming off just their second CUSA series win of the season, taking two of three games at FIU last weekend. DBU’s magic number is two to clinch the regular season title. Any combination of DBU wins and Western Kentucky losses that totals two will clinch the title for the Patriots.
It’s a similar scenario for Liberty, albeit in clinching a spot in next week’s CUSA Tournament. The Flames enter the weekend needing any combination of wins and Middle Tennessee losses that totals two to secure a berth in the CUSA Baseball Championship which will be held at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium starting on Wednesday.
DBU boasts one of the most potent offenses in the country, ranking 8th nationally in slugging percentage (.553), 9th in scoring (9.1), 10th in on-base percentage (.431), 145h in home runs (88), 16th in doubles (115), 18th in batting average (.313), and 20th in walks (290). Senior first baseman Chayton Krauss had a monster weekend against the Owls last week, hitting .455 with three home runs and 10 RBI, earning CUSA Hitter of the Week honors. His 13 home runs this season ranks 6th in CUSA. Grant Jay, DBU’s all-time home run leader, currently ranks second in the conference with 17 long balls while Nathan Humphreys ranks 4th with 15.
Right-hander Ryan Borberg is expected to get the start on Thursday. He has won each of his last six starts. During that span, the junior has posted a 1.84 ERA in 34.1 innings of work. James Ellwanger, Friday’s probable starter, ranks 9th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (13.2).
Liberty will have to lean on sophomore right-hander Ben Blair. Coming off his longest outing of his career, 7.1 innings in a win at FIU, Blair has posted a 6-3 record with a 3.42 ERA over 73.2 innings in 13 starts this season, all career-highs. He has struck out 86 and walked 25. Blair is currently among the CUSA leaders in several categories, leading the conference in innings pitched and strikeouts. He is also fourth in ERA and tied for fourth in wins.
The Patriots and Flames are two of the best fielding teams in the country. Liberty enters the weekend atop CUSA and third nationally with a 0.983 fielding percentage. The Flames have made only one error in their last nine games. The program record for fielding percentage in a season is 0.984, set by the 2021 Flames. Liberty led the nation in fielding percentage that season. DBU’s 0.982 fielding percentage ranks 7th in the country and matches their program record set by last year’s team.
