Liberty Softball Sweeps Past Competition At Liberty Softball Classic

The Lady Flames hosted Rutgers, Lehigh, James Madison and No. 23 Notre Dame for the Liberty Softball Invitational March 3-6 at the Liberty Softball Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia. 

After a rocky start to the season, the Lady Flames entered the series with an impressive nine wins in their last 10 games. They also looked to expand on their program record 11-game homestand.

Starting the series with two games against Rutgers, the Lady Flames wasted no time showing their dominance on their home field.

Pitching her second no-hitter of the season, sophomore Karlie Keeney (6-2) led the Lady Flames to a 12-0 victory in their first matchup with Rutgers. Keeney’s second no-hitter ties the program single-season record and gives her the only two in program history over Power Five teams.

“I try not to think about it much,” Keeney said. “I’m just trying to get it in the strike zone, and my defense played really great behind me.”

Senior infielder Lou Allan, boasting a .333 batting average, also posted two home runs in the matchup, leading the Lady Flames early strikes and bumping her RBI to 12 on the season.

Carrying the momentum into their matchup against Rutgers, the Lady Flames extended their winning streak to five games with a 9-1 run-rule victory in the fifth inning. After a strong start with sophomore catcher Caroline Hudson’s third home run of the season, freshman catcher Alexis Soto called game with a double to left field, driving in two runs to give the Lady Flames their 11th win in 12 games.

“When you focus on your teammates, scoring them and helping them out, it takes a lot of pressure off yourself,” Soto said.

In their first ranked matchup since losing 3-0 to No. 24 UCF Feb. 15, the Lady Flames faced No. 23 Notre Dame. In the first game of their Saturday night doubleheader, the Lady Flames pulled out a thrilling 6-3 victory over the Irish, bringing the 600 energetic fans in attendance to their feet.

“The big thing is, ladies, you look great, you feel great, it’s showtime and the cameras are rolling,” Head Coach Dot Richardson said about the primetime matchup.

Keeney remained consistent throughout the game, pitching all seven innings and holding the Irish to three runs on 10 hits. 

Turning on their heels, the Lady Flames took on Lehigh with Keeney handing the reigns to sophomore pitcher Naomi Jones. She pitched all five innings of the 9-1 victory and improved to 3-0 on the season, extending the team’s winning streak to seven games. 

Breaking the ice off their slow start, Soto built on her .455 batting average with a line-drive triple followed by Hudson’s fourth home run of the season, which drove home another run for a 3-0 lead. The Lady Flames dominated in the bottom of the fifth inning, bringing in six runs to end the game early on a technicality.

“They are really more relaxed, zoning in and swinging at good pitches,” Richardson said.

The Lady Flames finished off the weekend sweep, downing JMU 4-0. It was a bit of a revenge game for the Lady Flames as JMU ended Liberty’s season last year in the Knoxville Regional Final. 

Carrying an eight-game winning streak, Liberty softball will continue its stand at Kamphuis Field at the Liberty Softball Stadium when they battle Arkansas at 4 p.m. March 10.  

Shealy is a sports reporter. Follow him on Twitter