Colonels end season with loss to No. 1 Liberty in ASUN Semifinals

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Eastern Kentucky University’s season came to an end with a loss to No. 1 seed Liberty University on Friday in semifinals of the ASUN Conference Baseball Tournament.  The Flames won 18-9.

The Colonels finish the season 38-20, champions of the ASUN West Division and tied for the best conference record in the ASUN.  It’s the most wins for an EKU team since the 1990 squad won 42 games.

Eastern Kentucky grabbed the early lead with three runs in the second inning.  Will King and Conner Davis started with back-to-back singles.  Charlie Ludwick plated King with a single down the left field line.  Two batters later, Ron Franklin Jr. doubled to left to bring home Davis.  Max Williams capped the quick start with a single up the middle to make it 3-0.

A sacrifice fly off the bat of Davis in the third put the Colonels on top 4-1.

Liberty scored twice in the bottom of the third and fourth innings to take the lead.  A single by Gray Betts brought in the go-ahead run in the fourth.

King answered right back for Eastern Kentucky, sending the first pitch he saw over the wall in left center to tie it, 5-5, in the top of the fifth inning.  It was the 11th of the season for the first team all-conference catcher.

The Flames (37-20) scored three times in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead for good.  Cameron Foster’s 2-run home run made it 8-5.

King finished 4-for-4 with three runs and an RBI.  Jalen Jones had three hits in four at bats, a walk, two doubles and three RBIs.  Franklin had a 2-for-5 game with two RBIs.  Ludwick was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.

Three Hillier had two home runs for Liberty and finished 2-for-4 with two walks, four runs and four RBIs.  Logan Mathieu went 3-for-5 with a home run, a walk, three runs and five RBIs.

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