Liberty to Face Duke in Final Midweek Contest of 2017 Regular Season
5/15/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
LIBERTY vs. DUKE
May 16
Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Durham, N.C.
Liberty vs. Duke – 6 p.m.
COMPLETE BASEBALL NOTES
LFSN Radio Coverage:
93.3FM/1320AM WVGM ESPN Radio
Video Stream Coverage: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: Tuesday
Quick Hits
• Liberty enters Tuesday's contest with 30-19 overall record. The Flames spilt a pair of non-conference games at VCU over the weekend.
• Tuesday's contest at Duke will be Liberty's last road game and midweek contest of the 2017 regular season. The Flames have posted a 15-6 mark on the road in 2017 and are 6-3 in midweek contests.
• Liberty and Duke will be meeting for the second time in 2017 on Tuesday. The Flames defeated the Blue Devils, 8-4, on March 7
at Liberty Baseball Stadium. With the win, Liberty leads the all-time series between the schools, 9-8.
• Duke has posted a 26-25 record in 2017. The Blue Devils won two of their three games against Georgia Tech, this past weekend at Jake Coombs Field.
• The 2017 season is Liberty's first under head coach Scott Jackson. Jackson, who was an assistant coach at Liberty in 2008, spent the past eight seasons as an assistant on head coach Mike Fox's staff at North Carolina.
Road Ramblings
The Flames have posted a 15-6 record on the road in 2017. Tuesday's contest at Duke will be its final road game of the 2017 season. Of Liberty's last 19 regular season games, 12 were road games. The Flames have a 7-4 mark in those games.
Liberty is currently in the midst of a four-game road trip. The Flames are 1-2 on trip. The road swing began at South Carolina, last Wednesday, and has also included two non-conference games at VCU.
Liberty is hitting .297 on the road, this season. Center fielder D.J. Artis and third baseman Trey McDyre, the top two batters in the Flames' batting order, have hit .443 and .363, repectively, to pace Liberty on the road. First baseman Sammy Taormina has driven in a team-high 36 runs and belted seven home runs in road contests.
Artis Among National Leaders
Liberty sophomore D.J. Artis begins the week among the national leaders in walks and on base percentage.
On Sunday, Artis led off the Flames' 8-6 win over VCU by drawing his 53rd walk of 2017 to set a new program record for bases on balls in season, breaking his old mark of 52 which he set as a freshman last year. With that walk, the outfielder now leads the nation in bases on balls and with a 1.15 free passes per game average. Artis also is Liberty's all-time career leader in walks with 105.
In addition, Artis is second in the country with a .529 OBP. UC Irvine designated hitter Keston Hiura tops the category with a .549 OBP.
Artis leads the Big South not only in on base percentage and walks, but paces the conference with a .362 batting average and 53 runs scored. He is tied for fifth in the Big South with 41 RBI.
Around the Horn
• 1B Sammy Taormina leads the Big South with 53 RBI. He is tied for fourth in the league with 10 home runs.
• 2B Andrew Kowalo had three hits, his sixth home run of the season and four RBI in Liberty's victory over Elon at Liberty Baseball Stadium, last Tuesday. It was the fourth time this season, the senior has had four RBI in a game.
• SS Cam Locklear has reached base in 14 consecutive games. The shortstop has hit .301 during Liberty's 21 road games this season.
• OF Jake Barbee is second in the Big South with 49 runs scored. The senior has hit .307 with 25 RBI in road games, this season.
• Will Shepherd had three hits and a season-high four RBI in Liberty's 8-6 win over VCU on Sunday. Shepherd hit a two-run home run, his fourth of the year, and also doubled in the contest.
• RHP Evan Mitchell is second in the Big South with a 2.76 ERA and in wins with six. The right-hander has posted a 6-1 mark over a team-leading 65 1/3 innings.
• RHP Jack DeGroat pitched four scoreless innings to record his first win of the season in Liberty's 8-6 win over VCU on Sunday. DeGroat gave up three hits, striking out six and walking two.
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