Liberty Wins 12th Straight, Downs Fairfield 9-3

Liberty brought the Flames Classic to a close with a 9-3 victory over Fairfield, Saturday at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium.

The Lady Flames (13-9) went a perfect 3-0 at this weekend’s Flames Classic, running their winning streak to 12 games. Fairfield (3-8) dropped its eighth straight game after starting the season at 3-0.

Due to threatening weather in the forecast, tomorrow’s game between Liberty and Maryland has been canceled.

Scoring Summary

Fairfield – 1st INNING – Updegraff doubles to left center, Warren scores, 1-0

Fairfield – 1st INNING – Hoffman doubles to right center, Updegraff scores, 2-0

Liberty – 1st INNING – Hudson homers to left center, 2-1

Liberty – 1st INNING – Wilson hits sacrifice fly to right, Craine advances, Roupe scores, 2-2

Liberty – 2nd INNING – Hudson doubles down left field line, Madrey scores, 3-2

Liberty – 2nd INNING – Craine homers to right, Roupe and Hudson score, 6-2

Liberty – 3rd INNING – Howard advances on wild pitch, Madrey scores on wild pitch, 7-2

Liberty – 3rd INNING – Roupe hits sacrifice fly to center, Howard scores, 8-2

Fairfield – 5th INNING – Hoffman grounds out to third, Updegraff advances, Warren scores, 8-3

Liberty – 6th INNING – Woodard hit sacrifice fly to right, Wilson scores, 9-3

Notable Numbers

- Liberty outhit Fairfield 11-4 for the game, while the Stags committed three errors. The Lady Flames tied a program single-game record with three sacrifice flies. The hosts left eight runners on base compared to five stranded for Fairfield. Liberty tied a season high with six stolen bases.

- Paige Bachman (4-3) earned the win, allowing one unearned run on two hits, walking two and striking out three in seven innings in relief of starter Emily Estroff.

- Alyssa Weinberg (1-2) drew the loss, allowing six runs on six hits, walking three and fanning one in 1 2/3 innings before giving way to Samantha Lindsay.

- Rachel Craine and KK Madrey both recorded their first career three-hit game. Craine went 3-for-4 with a homer, three RBI and one run scored, while Madrey batted 3-for-3 with three steals and two runs scored. Caroline Hudson hit 2-for-4 with a double, homer, two RBI and two runs scored.

- Fairfield’s Kailin Hoffman went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI.

Turning Point

- Fairfield jumped out to a 2-0 lead, scoring twice off of Estroff before Bachman entered the circle in relief. The Lady Flames quickly tied it with a two-run first inning.

- Liberty took the lead for good in the bottom of the second. Hudson hit an RBI double, and Craine made it 6-2 with an opposite-field three-run home run later in the inning.

Beyond the Box Score

- Liberty leads the all-time series against Fairfield 5-2.

- The Lady Flames are now 12-0 at home this season, outscoring opponents 100-28 at Liberty Softball Stadium.

- The last time Liberty hit three sacrifice flies in a game was March 8, 2020 against New Mexico.

- Prior to today, the last time Liberty had two players with three hits in the same game was March 3, 2022 against Rutgers when Lou Allan and Mary Claire Wilson did so.

- Hudson is now in sole possession of sixth place in program history with 28 career home runs.

- Liberty’s current 12-game winning streak is its longest since winning 14 in a row, March 19 through April 10, 2022.

- The Lady Flames' 12-game home winning streak is their longest since winning 19 games in a row at Liberty Softball Stadium from April 2, 2019 through Feb. 27, 2021.

Up Next

The Lady Flames head to the road for their next six games, beginning next Thursday at Kentucky at 2 p.m.

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