When the Liberty Hawks matched up with the Lindsay Cardinals in the Division V semifinal playoff game, the teams seemed pretty even — on paper.
Fortunately for the No. 2 seeded Hawks, that is why they play the game on the field. Liberty scored seven runs in the fourth inning and invoked the 10-run mercyrule Wednesday in a 13-1 victory over the No. 3 seeded Cardinals at Liberty.
The Hawks found out after the game that top seeded Exeter was upset by No. 4 seed Selma. Liberty will host the Valley Championship game for a third straight year today at 4:30 p.m.
The Hawks (23-6) and Cardinals (22-7) had nearly identical records. However, the biggest difference between the two teams was who they played. The Hawks have played 14 teams in Divisions I-III. They went 7-2-1 against teams in Divisions I and II. On the other side of the diamond, the Cardinals played just one opponent in Divisions I-III (a doubleheader split with Monache-Porterville, a Division II team)...