Liberty Shuts Out Stetson 8-0 for Richardson’s 300th Career Win

Liberty capped off a doubleheader sweep with an 8-0, five-inning win over Stetson, giving ninth-year head coach Dot Richardson her 300th career win.

Liberty (40-15) is now a perfect 23-0 in ASUN games heading into tomorrow’s regular-season finale. Stetson falls to 20-34, 9-14 in conference competition.

Scoring Summary

Liberty – 4th INNING – Allan homers to left center, 1-0

Liberty – 4th INNING – Roupe homers to left center, Roupe, Jones and Wilson score, 4-0

Liberty – 5th INNING – Wilson doubles to left center, Plummer scores, 5-0

Liberty – 5th INNING – Griffin doubles to right center, Wilson scores, 6-0

Liberty – 5th INNING – Roupe homers to left center, Roupe and Griffin score, 8-0

Notable Numbers

- Liberty outhit Stetson 8-3 for the game. The Lady Flames have outscored the Hatters 12-0 so far this series.

- Emily Kirby (12-5) earned her fifth shutout of the season, allowing three hits while walking one and striking out six. She is 10-0 with a 0.77 ERA in ASUN games this season.

- Lauren Hobbs (8-12) drew the loss, allowing six runs on six hits, walking three and fanning five in 4 2/3 inning pitched. Jaime Tino yielded two runs on two hits in relief.

- Rachel Roupe batted 2-for-3 with her first career two-homer game, driving in five runs and scoring twice. Mary Claire Wilson went 2-for-3 with a double, triple, one RBI and two runs scored. Denay Griffin went 1-for-2 with a double, one RBI and one run scored, while Lou Allan (1-for-2) hit her eighth homer of the season and 25th of her career.

Turning Point

- Both teams went scoreless for the first three innings, before Lou Allan kickstarted a four-run fourth with a solo homer to left center in the bottom of the fourth. Wilson followed with a triple and Griffin walked, before Roupe sent a three-run blast over the fence.

- The Lady Flames ended the game with a four-run, two-out rally in the fifth, with the same four spots in the batting order scoring runs. Allan drew a two-out walk, and Wilson and Griffin followed with back-to-back RBI doubles before Roupe’s homer ended it.

Beyond the Box Score

- Liberty has posted its seventh 40-win season in program history and fifth in the last five full seasons. As of today, Liberty, Oklahoma and Florida State are the only three NCAA Division I softball teams to win 40 or more games in each full season since 2017.

- Coach Richardson has posted a 300-207 record during her nearly nine full seasons at Liberty. Her 200th win, April 23, 2019 versus Radford, also ended with a walk-off home run.

- Liberty is 9-7 all-time against Stetson in softball, with the Lady Flames winning each of the last five meetings. The Lady Flames are 5-0 versus Stetson as fellow ASUN opponents.

- Liberty has broken the ASUN record for conference victories, as USC Upstate went 22-2 in ASUN play in 2014.

- Liberty is 35-1 this season when scoring first.

- Today was Liberty’s 10th run-rule win of the season, with four of them coming in ASUN play.

- This was the fourth time this season that the Lady Flames pitched two shutouts on the same day.

- Roupe has reached base safely in 14 straight games, the longest active consecutive games reaching base streak on the team. Roupe has registered seven homers and 28 RBI in ASUN play this season, trailing teammate Caroline Hudson by one for the conference lead.

- Kirby is in sole possession of fourth place in program history with 15 career shutouts, passing former teammate Chase Cassady (2016-19) today.

Up Next     

The Lady Flames and Hatters will conclude their series tomorrow at 9 a.m. with a single game.

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