Garret Price and Jackson Bertsch combined on a five-hit shutout, propelling the Liberty Flames past the Charleston Southern Buccaneers, 4-0, Friday evening in a Big South contest at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
Price, who has won both his starts this season, held the Buccaneers to four hits over 6 2/3 innings. The reigning Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week tied his career high with nine strikeouts and walked four, running his record to 5-2 on the year.
Bertsch came on with two out in the seventh and struck out six of eight batters he faced in recording his second save of the season. The right-hander, the reigning Big South Relief Pitcher of the Week, gave up one hit in finishing the final 2 1/3 innings.
Liberty raises its record to 8-5 in the Big South and 20-12 overall. The Flames have won three straight and six out of their last seven. Charleston Southern drops to 3-10 in conference play and 11-25 overall.
Liberty scored runs in the second and third for a 2-0 advantage. Third baseman Tyler Galazin reached on a double, which dropped between the left fielder and shortstop, to open the home half of the second and tallied the first run of the game on a single by shortstop Cam Locklear. In the third, left fielder Tre Todd led off the bottom of the inning with a walk and later came home on a one-out single by Galazin, who had three hits in the game, for an early two-run cushion.
The Flames extended their advantage with a run in the fifth. With two out, designated hitter Logan Mathieu and Galazin reached on back-to-back singles. Locklear followed with his second run-scoring single of the contest for a 3-0 advantage.
Liberty tacked on an insurance run in the seventh. Todd opened the bottom of the seventh with a triple and immediately scored on a single by the next batter, first baseman Dylan Allen, for 4-0 lead.
The Flames outhit the Bucs, 10-5. Neither team committed an error.
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