Liberty outfielder D.J. Artis was named the Big South Player of the Week and third baseman Trey McDyre was selected the Co-Big South Freshman of the Week for games played April 17-23.

 

Artis hit .615 with five RBI and seven runs scored, helping the Flames post a 3-1 mark this past week. The sophomore, who was also the Big South Player of the Week for March 13-19, posted a .714 on base percentage and had at least one hit or more in each game during the week.

 

Artis opened the week with three hits, one a solo home run in the fifth inning to tie the game at 1-1, in a 5-2 win over No. 3 North Carolina, Tuesday. He also walked once and scored twice. In Liberty's weekend series at Gardner-Webb, the sophomore went 5-for-9 (.556) with four RBI and five runs scored. He also walked seven times and swiped three bags in Liberty's four contests.

 

McDyre was named Co-Freshman of the Week with Longwood outfielder Antwaun Tucker. The third baseman recorded six hits with eight RBI and five runs scored during the week. His week was highlighted by a three-run double in the eighth inning to give Liberty the lead in its 5-2 victory over against North Carolina on April 18. Against Gardner-Webb, he closed the series with a 3-for-5 performance, headlined by his first collegiate grand slam, in addition to five RBI and two runs scored in the Flames' 17-4 win on Saturday.

Road Ramblings
    Liberty opened an eight-game road trip, its longest of the season, with a 5-2 win at No. 3 North Carolina, on April 18  and has gone on to post a 3-1 mark on the trip, so far.  The trip includes three-game Big South series at Gardner-Webb and Longwood, along with midweek contests at nationally-ranked North Carolina and Virginia.

    The Flames enter the weekend with an 11-3 record  on the road in 2017. The mark is the third best road record in Division I baseball according to WarrenNolan.com. Only No. 1 Oregon State (13-0), North Carolina (9-1) and Mercer (18-4) have posted better road records.

    13 of Liberty's last 20 regular season games are on the road. Besides their current road trip, the Flames will have a five-game road swing in early May to complete their road schedule.

    The Flames went 4-0 on their last road swing, capping it off with a 26-1 win at James Madison in a game shortened to seven innings on April 11. Liberty opened the trip by sweeping a three-game conference series at Radford, April 8-9. 
 

Walk this Way
    Liberty enters the week among the national leaders in walks.  The Flames have drawn 232 bases on balls and rank fifth in the nation in the category.  Liberty is averaging 6.1 walks per game.

    Leading the way is outfielder D.J. Artis. Despite missing three games, Artis leads the Big South with 39 walks and leads the nation with 1.11 free passes per game. For the second straight year, the outfielder leads the conference with a .515 on base percentage and is fifth nationally in the category.

    In addition, the Flames lead the Big South with a .391 on base percentage and 28th nationally. Sammy Taormina (.442) and Andrew Kowalo (.423)  join Artis among the conference leaders in on base percentage.