CHARLESTON, S.C. - Liberty took advantage of shaky Charleston Southern pitching on Saturday afternoon as the Buccaneers fell in the second game of the weekend series against the Flames at the CSU Ballpark, 17-3.

The Flames (14-7, 4-1) took advantage of 15 CSU (11-9, 1-4) walks and batted around in three separate innings on Saturday afternoon as the Buccaneers were unable to even the series.

Cody Smith was one of the bright spots in the game for the Bucs with the junior outfielder going 2-for-2 from the plate with a pair of RBI in the contest. Jamison Mobbs threw 3.1 innings of shutout relief for the Bucs, while Seth Owens struck out a pair in his first action of the 2017 season.

However, the Flames jumped ahead 6-0 in the third and added six runs in the fourth and five more in the eighth to take the second game of the series against the Bucs.

Evan Mitchell (2-1) was the recipient of the offense for Liberty. The Flames' starter went 5.0 innings and allowed four hits while striking out five in the win. Nik Constantakos (1-1) suffered the loss for the Bucs going 2.1 innings in his shortest outing of the 2017 season. Constantakos allowed four hits and five runs while striking out one.

The Flames batted around in the third with D.J. Artis connecting on a one-out, two-run home run to start the Liberty offense. Sammy Taormina added a three-run triple in the frame and came around to score on a CSU error to give Liberty the 6-0 lead.

Nate Blanchard took one back for the Bucs in the bottom half of the inning as the senior second baseman connected on a one-out single to right field driving in Smith to put the Bucs on the board.

Trey McDyre connected on a bases-loaded triple and Will Shepherd followed with a two-run home run to provide the big hits for the Flames in the fourth inning as Liberty went up 12-1 following the frame.

Smith punched a single to right field for the Bucs in the bottom of the sixth scoring Brandon Gragilla for the second CSU run of the game.

The Flames took advantage of five walks issued in the top of the eighth to plate their final five runs of the contest.

Smith connected on a sacrifice fly to left field scoring Jack Delongchamps in the bottom of the eighth to provide the final margin of the game.

Up Next
Charleston Southern and Liberty close out the weekend series at the CSU Ballpark tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.

Probable Pitching Matchup
Kyle Dyson (0-0, 3.71 ERA) is CSU's probable starter for Sunday afternoon's contest. Liberty is expected to counter with RHP Jackson Bertsch (0-2, 6.86 ERA).

Bark at the Park
Tomorrow is Bark at the Park at the CSU Ballpark. Free admission if you bring your dog to the game and free treats for all canine companions at the field.