[PAmedic]

interesting article by CHRIS:

http://newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellit ... th=!sports

There's no relief for the Flames

Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
April 9, 2006

Two heartbreaking losses to Winthrop two weekends ago left Liberty baseball coach Matt Royer with one conclusion.
If LU wants to challenge for a Big South championship, the bullpen has to continue to improve.

"Obviously, what we learned from Winthrop is that we've got to finish games," Royer said. "Right now, we're hitting the ball real well, so we haven't had those tight situations.

"(The bullpen) is still an area of concern. Obviously, we prefer to win games big and not have that pressure on us at the end. But as we play better teams and get to the playoffs, you're going to have closer games."

Liberty led the conference favorites 7-4 in the ninth inning in the second game of a three-game set and 8-4 in the eighth inning of the third game.

The Flames lost both, thanks mostly to a nightmarish weekend from normally reliable pitcher Phillip Thompson.

Thompson allowed 10 earned runs in 2 1/3 innings in the two days. It's the sort of stretch that can break some pitchers and send them spiraling out of control.

Thompson rebounded, throwing six decent innings (allowing four earned runs) in his next start against VMI.

Royer knew the bullpen would be an issue before the season, mostly because of the relievers' relative youth.

Freshmen Dane Beakler, Tyler Light and Dustin Umberger have had to learn on the fly. Injuries have compounded the problem. An arm injury continues to bother starter Ryan Page. A bursa sac in his left arm burst, and the resulting fluid drain has left him with soreness.

With the Flames playing struggling Radford this weekend, Royer elected to rest Page.

Nearly every reliever has been thrust into spot starting duty, making it difficult for the bullpen to find any rhythm.

"We're kind of being forced to use more guys (in the rotation)," Royer said.

"Overall, they've done a good job. There still are a few question marks."

One reliever who has excelled recently is junior Tim John. After allowing three earned runs in an inning against Marist on March 15, John has given up just one run in his last six innings.

He's 2-1 with a 3.09 ERA for the season and has allowed a run in just four of his 13 appearances.

"I think we've come a long way, and we've gotten some of the younger guys like Beakler and Umberger and Light some innings so they can get some experience," John said. "We can bring them into tougher situations now. That really helps us out."