FARMVILLE, Va. – The Big South's leading hitter sparked a second straight offensive explosion for Liberty, as leadoff man D.J.
Artis went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer to power the second-place Flames to a 13-4 win over Longwood in game two of the series Saturday afternoon at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
Artis, who entered the game batting a Big South-best .369 on the season, reached base in all six of his plate appearances, twice by walks, once when he was hit with a pitch and again on a misplayed fly ball in left field that was ruled an error. The sophomore center fielder scored three times and drove in three runs to help the Flames (25-15, 11-6 Big South) secure their second straight Big South series win and stay within a game of first-place Winthrop in the conference standings.
Liberty, the top scoring team in the conference, scored double digit runs for a third straight game to take the series from Longwood (13-28, 5-12 Big South). For a second consecutive game Liberty hung a huge number with an eighth-inning rally. The Flames eight in the eighth Saturday to turn a two-run game into a double-digit lead, one day after a seven-run eighth broke a 7-7 tie Friday.
Artis went 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBI to lead the way for Liberty. Trey McDyre was 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI and pair of runs scored, and Jake Barbee went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored as the top three hitters were a combined 7-for-13 with eight RBI and six runs scored.
Longwood's offense was led by a 2-for-4 game by junior shortstop
Michael Osinski, who scored a pair of runs, and junior outfielder
Ryan Shull, who was 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs on a sixth-inning single. Senior Lancer
Alex Lewis reached base thrice, going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and one run scored.
Jackson Bertsch (2-3) picked up the win with 5.0 innings of three-run ball, allowing a single run in the fourth and two in the sixth inning. Despite taking the loss,
Steven Farkas (0-2) pitched well, allowing six runs, four earned, in 7.0 innings of work with six strikeouts.
The sophomore left-hander, Farkas, got stronger as the game went on in his 135-pitch outing. Farkas retired 10 of the final 13 hitters he faced, chased by a solo homer in the eighth.
Artis' three-run homer in the fourth inning was one of two long balls on the day for Liberty, the other coming from second baseman Andrew
Kowalo, whose leadoff shot sparked an eight-run inning. Liberty turned a 5-3 lead into double digits with the big inning, plating eight straight hitters before sophomore
Jon Peterson came out of the bullpen as Longwood's fourth pitcher of the inning and stopped the bleeding.
Liberty's eight-run eighth halted a mid-game comeback from the Lancers, who chipped away at the Flames' 5-0 lead with an RBI single from first baseman
Justin Mitchell in the third and Shull's two-run single in the sixth. The Lancer bullpen could not keep the game within reach, however, as the bullpen combined to give up seven runs in relief of Farkas.
Longwood will get a shot at blocking a sweep in the series finale Sunday. Longwood right-hander Zach
Potojecki (2-5, 3.68 ERA) will toe the rubber opposite Liberty right-hander Evan Mitchell (5-1, 3.14 ERA). The game will air online on the Big South Network and can be heard locally on 92.9 FM Farmville WVHL Kickin' Country. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
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