MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (Interstat) — Riley DeCandido drove in five runs, including a go-ahead two-run single in the eighth inning, as the Liberty Flames outlasted the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 8-7 on Saturday afternoon at Reese Smith Jr. Field.

DeCandido went 2 for 5 with a home run and five RBI for Liberty, which improved to 38-18 overall and 22-12 in Conference USA. The Flames took two of three in the series after dropping the opener Thursday and winning Friday.

Bradley Zayac started for Liberty and worked five innings, allowing three earned runs with five strikeouts. Tyler August earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief, striking out five, and Cooper Harrington recorded the final three outs for the save.

Brett Vondohlen had two hits and four RBI for Middle Tennessee, which fell to 26-29 overall and 16-16 in conference. Cole Torbett started and allowed one earned run on two hits over four innings with three strikeouts.

Liberty struck first in the second inning on an error that put two runners on, but the Flames left them stranded. Middle Tennessee grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Dean O’Neill doubled and Vondohlen followed with a two-run home run to left field.

O’Neill extended the lead to 3-0 in the fourth with a solo home run to center field.

Liberty answered in the fifth. Kyle Hvidsten led off with a double, and Josh Campos crushed a two-run homer to left field to cut the margin to 3-2. After a walk to Tanner Marsh, DeCandido launched a two-run homer to right field, giving the Flames a 4-3 lead.

The Flames added a run in the sixth on a bases-loaded groundout by DeCandido that scored Hvidsten for a 5-3 advantage.

Middle Tennessee rallied in the bottom half. Nathan Brewer singled, O’Neill was hit by a pitch, and Brett Rogers doubled to drive in Brewer, making it 5-4. After a pitching change, Vondohlen greeted August with a two-run single to center field, putting the Blue Raiders ahead 6-5. Vondohlen was caught stealing to end the inning.

Owen Nowak added a solo home run down the right-field line in the seventh, stretching the Middle Tennessee lead to 7-5.

Liberty tied the game in the eighth. Hvidsten was hit by a pitch, Campos walked, and both moved up on a wild pitch. After a strikeout, DeCandido singled through the right side, scoring both runners to make it 7-7.

The Flames took the lead for good in the ninth. Easton Swofford singled, Landon Scilley walked, and after a pinch-hit walk to Jaxon Sorenson loaded the bases, Hvidsten singled to center field to drive in Swofford with the go-ahead run. Campos grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Harrington retired the Blue Raiders in order in the bottom of the ninth, striking out Matt Wolfe and getting flyouts from Clay Badylak and Nowak.

DeCandido’s five-RBI performance came one day after he went 0 for 5 with one RBI in Liberty’s 10-2 win. He had one hit in the series opener and three hits in a loss to Wake Forest earlier in the week.

Campos finished 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBI for the Flames. Hvidsten had three hits and scored three runs.

For Middle Tennessee, O’Neill went 2 for 3 with a home run and an RBI. Nowak also homered.

Liberty outhit the Blue Raiders 11-9. The Flames used four pitchers, while Middle Tennessee used five.

The game featured five home runs in total, three by Liberty and two by Middle Tennessee.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Liberty 5, Middle Tennessee 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Liberty a 71.50 percent probability to win the game.