Ball, Lady Flames Shut Down Vikings, 3-0
2/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Liberty scored three times in the sixth inning, backing up Chandler Ball's complete game, four-hit shutout as the Lady Flames downed Cleveland State, 3-0, Friday at the National Training Center. It was both teams' first game at the Dot Richardson Invitational.
With the win, Liberty improves to 2-3 on the season. Friday's game was Liberty's first shutout victory since blanking UMBC, 12-0, on Feb. 15, 2014. The Vikings fall to 3-1, suffering their first loss of 2015.
Ball, a redshirt junior, fashioned her second career shutout and first since April 3, 2013 against Radford. Ball allowed four hits, while striking out six and walking six.
Cleveland State's Susan Knight yielded three runs, one earned, on three hits, fanning four in the complete-game effort.
Liberty senior Megan Robinson went 1-for-3 with an RBI and one run scored, while senior Kelby Allen added a sacrifice fly. Senior Jamie Crisp doubled, while junior Blair Lawrence singled, stole a base and scored once.
Four different Vikings recorded one base hit apiece, including a double by Katelind Phillips.
The Vikings got a leadoff baserunner via a walk in the second. Pinch runner Sydney Choe reached second on a wild pitch. Knight then lined into a 4-6 double play, before a groundout ended the inning.
Lawrence singled and stole second with two outs in the bottom of the second before Tori Zavodny popped out for the third out.
After two outs in the fourth, CSU's Erica McNew singled and Alyson Broschk drew a walk. Ball got out of the jam, as Phillips grounded to second.
Ball kept the Vikings off the board in the fifth stanza, as CSU stranded two baserunners when the Liberty right-hander struck out Hannah Yoe.
The Lady Flames went ahead during their sixth time at bat. Crisp hit a leadoff double, and Lawrence then reached on a fielder's choice. Robinson hit an RBI single, and Lawrence scored from first on a misplay by the left fielder. Allen then hit a sacrifice fly, plating Robinson for Liberty's third run. After an error and a hit batter, Madison Kotchey grounded out to end the rally.
Cleveland State nearly entered the scoring column in the sixth. With McNew on second and two outs, Phillips hit a drive over the head of center fielder Zavodny. Zavodny recovered, and the Lady Flames erased McNew at the plate, 8-6-2, keeping the Vikings scoreless.
Ball put the finishing touches on the shutout, working around a leadoff walk while striking out two in the bottom of the seventh frame.
