The Lady Flames softball team has been missing some home cooking for quite some time now as it opened the 2023 season on a 10-game road trip.
Battling away from your home field for 10 straight games is a daunting task, never mind when the teams you will be facing are the best teams in the country. But that was exactly the case for the Flames as they took on the nation’s finest Feb. 9-19. The road trip began at the Mark Campbell Invitational in Irvine, California, and ended across the border in Mexico at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.
The toughest team that Liberty would see during its road trip was first on the schedule in the two-time reigning national champion Oklahoma Sooners. The Lady Flames put up a good fight against Oklahoma, keeping the contest even at 0-0 for seven innings. The eighth, however, brought some luck the Sooner’s way as they scored on a Flames error and won in walk-off fashion, 1-0.
No. 16 Duke faced off with Liberty next. In game one, the Blue Devils jumped out to an early four-run lead, but the Flames were able to battle back against the Blue Devils and send the matchup to extra innings once again.
Much like Liberty’s run-in with Oklahoma, however, the Lady Flames fell short in extras as Duke was able to score three unanswered runs to take the matchup 8-5. Junior catcher Caroline Hudson hit Liberty’s first round-tripper of the tournament, going 2-4 on the day and batting in two runs.
No. 14 Washington tested Liberty next. Unlike the first two matchups, this contest proved not close as Liberty lost in shutout-fashion by a final of 8-0.
Liberty would get its first chance at facing a team outside of the top 25 in the country when it saw San Jose State University next at the Mark Campbell Invitational. The scoreline for this matchup would be the same as Liberty’s last matchup against Washington. This time, however, Liberty came out on top and pitched a 7-0 shutout. Sophomore pitcher Paige Bachman earned her first career win in a two-hit shutout, giving the Flames a boost in momentum and their first victory of the season.
Unfortunately for the Lady Flames, this would be the lone win on their road trip. The next task for Liberty would be No. 17 Stanford, and much like the two previous matchups, the final score of this game would be 8-0 with Liberty being shut out for the third time in the tournament. That matchup would conclude Liberty’s time at the Mark Campbell Invitational tournament, and Liberty would take on the No. 2 UCLA Bruins in its next game before heading across the border to Mexico.
Liberty would put up a strong showing against the Bruins, losing narrowly by a margin of 3-2. The Flames held a lead for much of the ballgame, spurred on by a Rye Green home run bomb. The Bruins, however, battled back from behind to pick up the win over the Flames.
Liberty would have four matchups at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, falling short in all four affairs.
The Flames fell to Ole Miss 3-2, the Kansas Jayhawks 4-3, the Tennessee Volunteers 5-1 and Cal State Fullerton 7-0. Neither tournament went the way that Liberty was hoping, but looking on the bright side, the Flames had a chance to face off with some of the best teams in collegiate softball. The Flames fought hard against the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country in Oklahoma and UCLA, only losing by one run to both.
Eager to get back in the win column, the Lady Flames now look ahead to their first home contest of the season against Northern Illinois when Liberty hosts the Liberty Softball Classic at Kamphius Field. The Northern Illinois Huskies will be their opening matchup, as the two are set to battle it out Feb. 24 at noon.
Young is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion