Flames a win away from second place

By Chris Lang

Published: May 16, 2008

Liberty hasn’t finished as high as second place in the Big South baseball standings since 2000.
“Really?” an incredulous Garrett Young asked.
Absolutely. The Flames have made runs to the conference tournament championship game in each of the last two seasons, but Liberty hasn’t finished any higher than third in the regular season in eight years. That could change this weekend. After an 8-1 rout of High Point Friday night at Worthington Stadium, the Flames are one win or one VMI loss away from securing second-place in the final standings.
That’s great for pride, but there’s also a practical implication. The bottom four teams in the league play in single-elimination games next Tuesday at the Big South tournament in Danville. The conference’s top two teams (Coastal Carolina has clinched the top seed) will open tourney play Wednesday against one of the two survivors.
“Having that two-spot is great because you end up playing a team that had to play a game to get into the tournament,” said Liberty first baseman David Giammaresi, who was 4-for-4 with two RBIs Friday. “That means they’re probably going to use their No. 1 pitcher (the first day). It’s always better to face somebody’s No. 2 in the first game of the tournament.”
The Flames (30-23-1, 13-6 Big South) remained unbeaten in their last nine games and clinched their fourth straight 30-win season, a program first. Liberty collected 16 hits, and pitchers David Stokes, Tyler Light and Brett Curll combined to hold the Panthers (19-31, 8-11) to four hits.
“We’re actually playing pretty well now at the end,” Flames coach Jim Toman said. “That’s when you want to get hot. We’ll see where it takes us. We struggled for a long time, but the guys, to their credit, never dropped their heads, never panicked. They’re having fun and still working hard.”
High Point’s loss set the lineup for the single-elimination round Tuesday at Dan Daniel Memorial Park. The Panthers, Charleston Southern, Radford and UNC Asheville will all try to play their way into the six-team, double-elimination bracket.
The Flames took the lead for good in the second inning on a strange play. With two outs and the game tied at 1, Liberty had runners at the corners. Kenneth Negron broke for second base, but HPU pitcher Ryan Basham stopped before delivering the pitch. He had Negron caught in a rundown, but Aaron Phillips snuck home from third before the Panthers could tag Negron out. The run counted, and Liberty led 2-1.
Liberty went up 4-1 in the third when Young ripped a double to right-center with two outs, scoring Giammaresi and Cody Brown.
Young, who has played all season with a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder, now has 35 RBIs, fourth on the team. In the seventh, he stole his team-high 10th base of the season. The shoulder has kept Young out of the field — he’s spent much of the season at designated hitter — but his hitting has come around in recent weeks.
“It feels better every day,” Young said. “Obviously, it’s not where I want it to be, or I’d be out (in the field). But it’s getting better every day.”
NOTES: Liberty C Errol Hollinger went 1-for-3 to run his hit streak to 13 games. … LU entered the game ranked sixth in Division I in doubles with 133 and added four more two-base hits Friday. … LU reliever Dane Beakler, who hasn’t pitched since April 19 against VMI, will try to throw a bullpen session today. He’s been bothered by scar tissue in his right (throwing) elbow. Beakler is 1-1 with a 3.51 ERA in 25 2/3 innings pitches with 15 walks and 25 strikeouts. … Toman said Stokes will start next Wednesday in LU’s tournament opener.