It would be silly to think a sweep would be easy, even against a team that had been blown out two days in a row. Especially since Quinnipiac had been blown out twice. There is no doubting that their young men are proud, and they were likely embarrassed at the first two games of the series.
Aaron Zenus got the start for the Bobcats and put up the best stat line of the three starters. He limited Liberty to 4 runs (3 earned) through 3.2 innings. Jack Kabel and Ryan Hutchinson followed Zenus, and between the two of them, they two more innings of scoreless ball.
None of the three pitchers overpowered Flames hitters, but they constantly had Liberty batters off-balance. Maybe they were just mixing their stuff up well, or maybe the Liberty hitters had a bit of a hangover from all of the balls dinging off of their bats over the past two games. Regardless, these three limited the damage from Flames bats.
Unfortunately for the Bobcats, every time they put some runs on the board, Liberty fought back and matched them or better. In the top of the 4th, the Bobcats took a 4-2 lead after a 3-run home run.
In the bottom of the 4th, freshman C Macaddin Dye launched the first home run of his college career. It would have been a no-doubter except for hitting it into the teeth of a stiff wind blowing across from left field to right. He crushed the ball into the Liberty bullpen to tie the game at 4-4.
The Bobcats took another lead in the 7th. The leadoff hitter walked and with one out, advanced to 3rd on a pickoff that got past Liberty 1B Brian McClellin for one of Liberty’s two errors on the day. RF Camden Troyer made a great throw to 3rd that was a hair late. The following batter singled, and the run scored from 3rd base. Their one-run lead was to be short lived though.
In the bottom of the 7th, DH Todd Hudson was hit with a pitch in the lower back. McClellin flied out to left field, and Dye reached 1st on a tough error that was given to the Bobcats 2B after he muffed a throw from the shortstop trying to force Hudson. They never had a chance on a slow roller up the middle to get Hudson, so in my opinion, it should have been a hit. Three Hillier then pinch hit for SS Tanner Marsh, and he grounded into a fielder’s choice at 2nd. Then with Hudson on 3rd and pinch runner Nathan Keeter on 1st with two outs, things got interesting.
CF Kane Kepley walked, as he is wont to do. 2B Aidan Sweatt then reached 1st on a HIGH chopper that the Bobcat shortstop could not convert after he had to wait an eternity for the ball to come back down. Hudson scored, and Keeter and Kepley advanced. LF Noah Rabon came to the plate and then doubled down the right field line. Keeter and Kepley scored.
Next up was RF Camden Troyer, who doubled down the left field line and scored Sweatt and Rabon. Following a walk by 3B Cam Foster, Hudson singled and scored Sweatt. McClellin struck out to end the 6-run inning in which all six runs came with 2 outs.
RHP Bryce Dolby made his first career start, and it was a mixed bag similar to Garrett Horn on Saturday. Dolby pitched well until the 4th when he accidentally hit Bobacats 1B Christopher Willis, who had homered on Saturday. Willis took exception and said something to Dye. The homeplate ump broke it up quickly, but Dolby and Dye couldn’t believe anyone thought the HBP was intentional in a close game. Then, following a single, the Bobcats hit a 3-run home run down the right field line. Dolby finished the inning and ended with 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 BB, and 2 K.
LHP Trey Cooper relieved Dolby, and he pitched two hitless and scoreless innings. While he did issue two walks, five of his six outs came via the strikeout. Four of those five strike outs were on swinging strikes.
RHP Garrett McLaughlin relieved Cooper in the 7th, and he struggled through one out. He gave up a hit, a walk, and an unearned run that came via his own pickoff attempt at first base that allowed the runner to go from 1st to 3rd.
RHP Dylan Mathiesen relieved McLaughlin and picked up the final two outs of the 7th. Then, he pitched the 8th and 9th innings as well to close out his second game of the series. His final stat line was 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, and 3 K. He appeared gassed at the end of the 9th when he issued the two walks with two outs. Coach Jackson left him in the game with a 5 run lead, and Mathiesen struck out the 27th out.
Up next:
Liberty travels to Duke on Wednesday for the away portion of the home-and-home. Sadly, the game will be at Duke’s field instead of the Durham Bulls field. Free admission for anyone making their way down there. Depending on the publication, Duke is barely outside the top 10, and they beat two ranked teams and another good one in an opening weekend tournament. This will be a great test for the Flames.
