Hofstra wins two of three against Liberty Flames baseball team
After playing on the road against Duke, the Liberty University Flames returned to Worthington Field to host the Hofstra University Pride on their home turf in a three-game weekend series Feb. 23-25.
On Friday evening, the first inning began with Liberty taking the field and junior starting pitcher Cole Hertzler striking out Hofstra senior Santino Ross. Hofstra would end up scoring twice in the top of the first, but Liberty shut it down with a double play to bring its offense up to bat. Sophomore center fielder Kane Kepley was first to the plate and led the Flames off strong, launching a home run.
“I love it,” Kepley said about his leading home run. “It gets the guys going, gets the energy going.”
Unfortunately for Liberty, Hertzler had an issue with his shoulder and was subbed out. His replacement was freshman right-hander Ben Blair, who kept Hofstra off the board with a strikeout and excellent fielding by the Flames.
Photo by Noah Seidlitz
In the following inning, however, Hofstra took advantage of a mistake by the Liberty defense when freshman catcher Macaddin Dye missed a pitch from freshman pitcher Josh Swink, which led to Hofstra driving a three-run homer.
Those runs soon multiplied, and Liberty only had one run on the board compared to Hofstra’s seven. Morale was down in the Flames’ dugout until the bottom of the fourth, when senior outfielder Three Hillier hit a triple off a line drive down the right field foul line. The fans roared as Liberty narrowed the gap even further when sophomore designated hitter Brayden Horton smashed a three-run home run.
Followed by a few doubles in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings from Kepley and freshman shortstop Tanner Marsh, the Flames knotted the score at seven apiece. Despite a strong comeback, Hofstra scored off a two-run home run and pinned Liberty down the rest of the game. By the end of the ninth inning, Hofstra took the game one victory with a 9-7 final.
Photo by Noah Seidlitz | Freshman Bryce Dolby took the mound for the Flames in game three
Frustrated by the outcome, Liberty cleaned up its defense and put pressure on the Pride the following day, but Hofstra responded with a matched intensity. Both teams were locked down and did not score for the first five and a half innings. With rain looming, it looked like the game would be stopped before either team could put a run on the board. The teams kept playing despite a brief pop-up shower.
When the rain stopped in the bottom of the sixth, junior third baseman Cam Foster broke free of Hofstra’s hold, hitting a three-run double to surge his Flames ahead.
“It was incredible,” Foster said. “(Horton) walked on a run; that opened the scoring for us. I was glad to follow behind and get some scoring for us.”
Foster’s dart gave Liberty a momentum boost going into the rest of the game. By the end of the sixth, Liberty had a 5-0 lead over the Pride. Junior right fielder Camden Troyer then launched a triple that was almost caught by Hofstra senior right fielder Steve Harrington. Kepley followed Troyer’s triple with a three-run home run. He would later get another RBI, doubling his career-high of two RBIs by scoring four RBIs in a single game.
Photo by Noah Seidlitz | Camden Troyer (left) and Noah Rabon (right) share a high five
“I honestly didn’t even know about it until now,” Kepley said. “It makes me feel pretty good. I want to drive off more runs this season. Hopefully, it’s off to a good start.”
The Pride mounted a charge to tie up the score, but the damage had been done, and Liberty continued to score and defend well until the top of the ninth, when sophomore right-handed pitcher Brandon Dahlman led the Flames to their first win of the weekend with a strikeout in the top of the ninth. The day ended with a 9-4 figure.
“It’s hard to win college baseball games,” Liberty Head Coach Scott Jackson said. “Everybody’s got somebody that can beat you. I thought we did great. Our offense really picked us up. I’m looking forward to watching us evolve as an offense, and our bullpen has been fairly reliable, which really is a good feeling.”
Photo by Noah Seidlitz
Hofstra came out on top in the final game of the weekend, beating Liberty by six runs. It only went scoreless in two innings, while Liberty struggled to put up runs and trailed the Pride all game.
Following the 1-2 weekend showing, the Flames look to get back on their feet in their next game against UNCW in Wilmington, North Carolina on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m.
Warden is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion