Lady Flames to Host Liberty Softball Classic
3/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Complete Tournament Notes
Liberty (9-10) looks to open the 2017 home schedule on a winning note. The Lady Flames will host the third annual Liberty Softball Classic, held Thursday through Saturday at Liberty Softball Stadium. Liberty welcomes Rhode Island, Saint Francis (Pa.) and North Carolina Central. Due to threatening weather in the forecast, this weekend's classic has been shifted to a Thursday through Saturday event.
Saint Francis and North Carolina Central both competed in the inaugural Liberty Softball Classic in 2015, while Rhode Island played in the 2016 Liberty Softball Classic.
Prior to practice earlier this week, LFSN reporter Alan York had a chance to interview redshirt senior pitcher Kenzie Friesen.
Lady Flames at a Glance
Liberty dropped all five games at the Wilson/DeMarini Classic last weekend, including a pair of contests to No. 2/3 Auburn, the host school.
The Lady Flames rank second in the Big South with a .295 team batting average. Freshman Autumn Bishop, two-time Big South Freshman of the Week, leads Liberty with a .367 batting average, three triples and 17 runs scored. Bishop's twin sister, Amber, bats .344 with 12 runs, three homers and 17 RBI. Jasmeen Click hits .361 with a team-high six stolen bases. Six Liberty regulars bat .300 or better.
In the circle, Julia DiMartino (2-3) leads the Big South with a 1.67 ERA while holding opponents to a .206 batting average. Kenzie Friesen (3-1) and Chase Cassady (2-4) have both tossed one shutout this season.
How to Follow the Lady Flames
Live stats will be available for all games at the Liberty Softball Classic. StatBroadcast live stats will appear courtesy of Liberty Athletics Communications. Live Twitter updates can be accessed through following @LUGameday.
Quick Hits
- Liberty has won both of its home openers all-time at Liberty Softball Stadium.
- Liberty is 6-4 all-time at Liberty Softball Classic.
- The Lady Flames went 14-7 at home in 2016.
- Liberty Softball Stadium was voted sixth-best softball stadium by FloSoftball.com.
- Autumn Bishop was named Big South Freshman of Week for the second straight week.
- Four Liberty pitchers have posted multiple wins this year.
- Amber Bishop hit her team-leading third homer, Saturday against College of Charleston.
- Tori Zavodny is ranked fifth in program history with 55 career stolen bases.
- Deidra See led Liberty with a .333 batting average at Wilson/DeMarini Classic.
- Six Liberty freshmen have started at least one game this season.
Liberty vs. Rhode Island (Liberty leads, 3-2)
Current Streak: Rhode Island W1
Last Meeting: Rhode Island 7, Liberty 3 (March 11, 2016 – Lynchburg, Va.)
Last Liberty Win: Liberty 8, Rhode Island 0 (March 6, 2010 – Woodstock, Ga.)
Rhode Island, coming off of a 12-32 record in 2016, has started the 2017 season at 1-9, with its lone win coming against Incarnate Word. The Rams have not played since Feb. 26, when they wrapped up the Grand Canyon Tournament. Erika Yaeger bats .370 to lead Rhode Island, while Kylie Shivery hits .367 and Melanie Martire (.318) leads the squad with three homers.
The Rams defeated Liberty, 7-3, in eight innings, on March 11, 2016, rallying for four runs in the eighth. However, Liberty leads the all-time series, 3-2.
Liberty vs. Saint Francis (Pa.) (SFU leads, 3-1)
Current Streak: SFU W2
Last Meeting: Saint Francis (Pa.) 5, Liberty 4 (March 20, 2015 – Lynchburg, Va.)
Last Liberty Win: Liberty 13, Saint Francis (Pa.) 0 (March 7, 1998 – Hampton, Va.)
Saint Francis (Pa.) went 34-24 last season, its fifth straight year with an improved record. This year, the Red Flash has posted a 16-8 record. Cheyenne McKee hits .375, while Jordan Seneca has had a standout start to the year, at .328 with nine homers and 24 RBI. Ethel Santai is 5-1 with a 1.87 ERA, while Ketarah DeVries is 5-4 with a 2.50 ERA.
SFU is the first opponent to defeat Liberty at Liberty Softball Stadium. The Red Flash downed the Lady Flames, 5-4, on March 20, 2015, despite Liberty getting a home run from then freshman Tori Zavodny.
Liberty vs. NC Central (Liberty leads, 6-1)
Last Meeting: Liberty 7, NC Central 5 (March 22, 2014 – Lynchburg, Va.)
Last NC Central Win: NC Central 4, Liberty 0 (March 22, 2014 – Lynchburg, Va.)
North Carolina Central went 8-42 last season, and the Eagles are off to a 2-13 start to the 2017 campaign. NCCU split a home doubleheader with Hampton on Monday, snapping an 11-game losing streak. Miriam Duen leads the Eagles with a .333 batting average, while Dominique Wilson bats .286 while also posting a 2-7 record and 5.06 ERA.
Liberty went 2-1 in a three-game series against North Carolina Central on March 21-22, 2014 at Liberty Softball Field. The Eagles competed in the 2015 Liberty Softball Classic, but did not face the Lady Flames that weekend.
Opening Remarks
Liberty is 21-10 all-time in home openers, and 16-7 when opening the home schedule during the NCAA Division I era (since 1994).
The Lady Flames have won each of their two home openers at Liberty Softball Stadium, including a 9-1 win over Norfolk State in the first home contest last year. Prior to that, Liberty had not won its initial home game of a season since March 23, 2010, a 9-1 win over Radford at Liberty Softball Field.
Autumn Bishop Named Big South Freshman of the Week
Liberty catcher/outfielder Autumn Bishop has been named Big South Softball Freshman of the Week each of the last two weeks.
Last week, she batted .312 with one double, one triple and two runs scored in five games at Auburn's Wilson/DeMarini Classic.
So far this season, Bishop leads Liberty in batting average (.367), on-base percentage (.441), runs (17), doubles (4), triples (3), walks (6) and hits (22).
Going Yard
Tori Zavodny, who led Liberty with eight homers as a freshman, hit Liberty's first home run of the 2017 season, on Feb. 11 against Chattanooga.
Freshman Amber Bishop leads the team with three homers so far this season, with the most memorable one coming off of three-time NFCA All-Region pitcher Sierra Hyland of Cal Poly, Feb. 19.
Blazing the Basepaths
In their first three years under the direction of Head Coach Dot Richardson, the Lady Flames averaged 85 stolen bases per year. So far this year, Liberty has averaged 1.58 steals per game, good for 53rd in NCAA Division I.
Jasmeen Click leads the way with six stolen bases, followed by five from Taylor Hoffman.
Zavodny, a two-time all-conference selection, led the team in stolen bases each of the last two years. She is now ranked fifth in program history with 55 career steals.
Pitching Shines at Citrus Classic 1
Liberty went 4-1 at the Citrus Classic 1, Feb. 24-26 at ESPN Wide World of Sports. The Lady Flames' pitchers allowed just two earned runs all weekend, good for a 0.39 ERA and .142 opponents' batting average.
Julia DiMartino tossed 16 2/3 innings over three games, yielding no earned runs while striking out 16. Kenzie Friesen allowed no runs in 11 innings pitched, including a one-hit shutout on Feb. 26 against Morgan State during which she struck out a career-high seven.
Arguably Liberty's most impressive pitching performance came on Feb. 25, as Cassady (4 IP) and DiMartino (5.2 IP) held No. 3/3 Florida hitless through the first six innings and allowed just two runs (both unearned) in a 2-1, 10-inning setback.
Round and Round We Go
The Lady Flames have averaged 4.3 runs per game, and the Bishop twins, Amber and Autumn, have been key catalysts to the offensive explosion. Autumn Bishop has averaged 0.89 runs scored per game, while Amber Bishop averages 0.89 RBI per contest.