Fly, Eagles, Fly: Liberty rides wind, momentum in beating Payson for fourth straight win

PAYSON, Ill. — It was windy Thursday afternoon. Really windy. 

Gusts blew as strong as 25 miles per hour with steady wind around 15 mph, forcing Liberty softball coach BJ Fessler to make sure his team was prepared for the conditions.

“During our in-and-out (before the game), I hit some big flies so they could get the feel for the wind,” Fessler said. “We knew the wind was going to be an issue, and there were some fly balls out there that caused some havoc.”

The Eagles battled the conditions and staved off multiple Payson Seymour rally attempts to win 4-3 and secure their fourth straight victory.

“They beat us last time so we definitely wanted revenge,” Liberty sophomore shortstop Ava Heming said.

Liberty collected 13 hits, and while the Eagles’ offense still isn’t quite where Fessler would have hoped, it is trending in the right direction.

“The bats are starting to come around,” he said. “I still think we’re not quite driving the ball enough, but it’s starting to come around. I hope they start to feel it and capitalize on it.”

The Eagles capitalized with the score tied at 2 with one out in the top of the third when freshman Claire Obert tripled, then scored on an error by Payson Seymour first baseman Madilyn O’Dear to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead.

Liberty added an insurance tally in the top of the fourth on an RBI double by Heming that drove in Makenna Zanger.

“I really just wanted to wait back on it and trust my mechanics,” Heming said of her approach.

Payson Seymour scored on an error by Heming with no outs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the deficit to one, but a Bryn Buescher groundout, an Ella Archer strikeout and a Megan Kirby groundout ended the inning.

Payson Seymour received two walks from Eagles pitcher Chandler John in the fifth but Olivia Mock flew out to end the threat.

The Indians got the potential winning run to the plate after a Teagan Mass two-out double in the bottom of the seventh, but O’Dear popped out to end the game.

“Our goal was to elevate the ball because we knew it was going to be windy,” Payson Seymour head coach Joe Fessler said. “But we didn’t really get it out of the infield much, and when we did, it was right at them or they made a play. They deserved to win.”

Liberty and Payson Seymour will square off for a third time this season on April 20.