First baseman Dylan Allen had four hits, including a home run, helping to power the Liberty Flames past the Binghamton Bearcats, 10-6, Saturday afternoon at the Liberty Baseball Stadium.
Three of Allen’s hits went for extra bases, as the redshirt junior added two doubles to go with his second home run of the season in recording his first four-hit game of his career. He also drove in a career-high five runs in the contest.
In addition, designated hitter Logan Mathieu added his first home run of the season. The freshman’s two-run home run was his collegiate hit.
Liberty moves to 5-1 and evens its weekend series with Binghamton at 1-1. The Bearcats drop to 2-3.
Binghamton center fielder CJ Krowiak led off the contest with his first home run of the game for a 1-0 Bearcat edge, only to see Liberty answer in the bottom of the first.
Flames center fielder D.J. Artis opened the home half of the inning with an opposite-field double and advanced to third on third baseman Trey McDyre’s ground out. Catcher Jonathan Embry then plated Artis with a ground out, knotting the game at 1-1.
Binghamton scored single runs in the second and the fourth. In the second, a one-out single by second baseman Alex Baratta brought home first baseman Shane Marshall, who reached on a leadoff infield single. In the fourth, designated hitter Luke Trevlin doubled with one out and scored two batters later on a double by right fielder Andrew Eng for a 3-1 Bearcats’ lead.
The Flames countered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, left fielder Tre Todd reached on an infield single and moved all the way to third on a throwing error by Binghamton shortstop Paul Rufo. Two batters later, Mathieu lined a 3-2 pitch over the left-center field wall to tie the contest at 3-3.
In the top of the fifth, the Bearcats took a short-lived one-run edge. Rufo walked to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a single by catcher Jason Agresti. After moving to third on a fly out by third baseman Justin Drpich, Rufo scored on a RBI ground out by Marshall to take the lead, 4-3.
In the bottom of the inning, the Flames struck for four runs to go in front on the scoreboard for good. Artis walked with one out and advanced to third on a single by McDyre to get things started in the Liberty fifth. Embry followed with an infield to plate Artis and deadlock the contest at 4-4. After both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch, Allen lined a two-run single through the left side of the infield for a 6-4 lead. Todd then singled home Allen for an 7-4 advantage.
Each team pushed across a run in the seventh. With left fielder Daniel Franch on third after a triple, Agresti dropped a RBI single into center, cutting the Flames’ lead to 7-5 in the top of the inning. Allen blasted his home run in the bottom of the inning, upping the Liberty lead to 8-5.
After Binghamton cut the Flames’ edge to two runs with a run in the top of the eighth, Liberty added two insurance runs in the bottom of the inning. Artis, who had two hits and scored three runs in the contest, tripled off the center field wall, and McDyre singled with one out. Two batters later, Allen lined a two-run double into the right field corner for the final score of 10-6.
Liberty right-hander Ben Good (1-0) picks up his first collegiate win in relief of starter Noah Skirrow. The freshman allowed two runs on four hits over three-plus innings. He struck out one and did not walk a batter.
Garret Price relieved Good and earned his third save of the year. He pitched two scoreless innings, striking out five.
Binghamton starter Jacob Wlcozewski drops to 0-2. The right-hander gave up seven runs on eight hits over 4 1/3-plus innings. He struck out four and walked one.
Liberty collected 13 hits, seven of which went for extra bases. Binghamton had 10 hits and committed the only error of the game.
Up next: Liberty and Binghamton will meet again in the final game of their three-game series, tomorrow at Liberty Baseball Stadium. The final game of the Flames’ seven-game homestand to open 2018 is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
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