Liberty won three straight games against Louisiana Tech without allowing a loss, culminating in a 2-0 shutout today at Liberty Softball Stadium's Conference Field.
Liberty and Louisiana Tech entered this series tied for first in the Conference USA standings. The Lady Flames (20-14, 10-2) lead the Bulldogs (23-9, 7-5) by three games.
Score overview
Liberty – 2nd inning – Crane singles to left, Roberts advances, Madrid scores, 1-0
Liberty – 6th inning – Madrid fly left, Norris scores, 2-0
turning point
Liberty scored in the bottom of the second inning. KK Madrid hit on a bunt and Brooke Roberts followed with a single. After Savannah Jessee's sacrifice bunt advanced runners to second and third base, Rachel Crane took the lead with a timely hit over left. Liberty added one run in the sixth inning with Sierra Kersten's double to center field. Pinch runner Aubrey Norris fouled out to third base and scored on Madrid's sacrifice fly. Louisiana Tech did not have a runner past second base for the third day in a row. Notable Numbers Liberty defeated Louisiana Tech 5-2 in this game. The Lady Flames left four runners on base and the Bulldogs three. Keilan Yoder (8-5) recorded his second shutout of the series and fourth of the season with just two hits and one walk. She had eight strikeouts today. Over the weekend, she posted a 2-0 record with two shutouts, three hits and three runs, 16 strikeouts, and two walks in 14 innings pitched. Brooke Melnichuk (7-6) pitched two innings as a starter, allowing three hits, one walk, one strikeout and one run, tying the loss. Relief pitcher Allie Floyd pitched four innings, allowing two hits, one walk, and two walks, allowing one run. KK Madrid was 2-for-2 for Liberty, with one RBI, one run scored, and a sacrifice fly. Rachel Crane went 2-for-2 with one hit and one RBI, and Sierra Kersten went 2-for-1 with a double. Beyond the Box Score Liberty leads Louisiana Tech 5-0 in the all-time softball series. The Lady Flames defeated the Bulldogs in both of their previous meetings in 2016. It was the fourth time in program history that the Lady Flames held an opponent scoreless through his entire three-game conference series. The last time was April 17-18, 2021, when Liberty shut out Lipscomb for the third consecutive time in the away ASUN series. Louisiana Tech entered the series with a season batting average of .296 and an average of 5.45 RBI per game. Yoder became the third Lady Flame in history to have two shutout wins in one conference series. The other two are Emily Kirby (3 hits on April 17 and 18, 2021 at Lipscomb) and Tiffany Smith at Gardner Webb (1 hit on April 16, 2010, April 2010) 2 hits on the 17th). Madrid extended their hitting streak to eight games. She has had hits in each of her last three at-bats, and until her sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, she reached base safely in five consecutive at-bats. Liberty is 12-2 at home this season, with more than half of those wins (7 of 12) coming as shutouts. Seven of Liberty's eight shutouts this year have come at Liberty Softball Stadium.next
The Lady Flames head to Blacksburg on Wednesday to take on Virginia Tech at 6 p.m. The Hokies were ranked 10th in this week's national poll.