Lynchburg, Va. – Liberty left no room for doubt on Sunday, scoring nine runs in the first three innings of the rubber game of the series against Stetson before coasting to a 15-4 victory.
The Flames maintained the lead in the ASUN with the win, improving to 27-8 overall, 9-3 in league play. The Hatters fall to 16-19 overall and 5-4 in the conference.
The host Flames wasted no time in jumping to an early lead, getting three consecutive hits off Stetson starter
Robbie Peto (0-6) to start the game, scoring two runs.
Liberty pushed its advantage to 5-0 in the second inning, getting a two-out RBI single followed by a run-scoring error and an infield single. Peto left the bases loaded by getting a strikeout to finish the frame.
The Flames blew the game open in the third inning, scoring four more runs on five hits with the help of a pair of Stetson errors. Peto's day came to an end after allowing eight runs, five earned, on nine hits over 2.1 innings of work.
Junior
Mitchell Senger came on and get Stetson out of the frame, but not before allowing a bunt single that scored a run as the result of an error.
The Hatters avoided the shutout, scoring an unearned run in the fifth inning thanks to a walk, a hit batter and a fielding error.
Liberty continued to pour on the offense in the fifth inning, scoring five more runs on five hits with the help of three walks. The Flames added their final run in the eighth on three more hits. Liberty finished with a season-high 22 hits in the game.
Flames starting pitcher Joseph Adametz (5-1) worked five innings for Liberty, allowing just one unearned run on three hits with three strikeouts.
The Hatters finally generated some offense in the ninth inning, scoring three runs against Liberty reliever David Erickson.
E.J. Doskow started the inning with a double, which was followed by singles from
Andrew MacNeil and
Kyle Ball to plate a run.
After a ground out,
Jacob Koos delivered a run with a sacrifice fly.
Jorge Arenas followed with an RBI triple before a pop out ended the game.
Stetson finished the game with just seven hits, with four of those going for extra bases. Liberty's attack was led by Jonathan Embry and Will Warner with four hits and three runs each. Tyler Galazin and Cam Locklear added three hits each.
The Hatters will return home to Melching Field next weekend for a three-game ASUN series against Kennesaw State. The series will open on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m., followed by a 6:30 p.m. game on Friday and a 1 p.m. start on Saturday.
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.
