Saturday, May 11
Las Cruces, N.M.
2:00 PM ET/12:00 PM MT
Liberty University
36-23
4
vs
3
Western Kentucky
33-20-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Western Kentucky
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
3
3
1
Liberty
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
1
4
10
1
CUSA Champs! Jessee’s Walk-Off Double Sends No. 1 Seed Liberty to 4-3 Win Over No. 2 Seed WKU
5/11/2024 7:07:00 PM | Softball
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Liberty redshirt freshman Savannah Jessee's ninth-inning RBI double sent Megan Fortner home with the winning run in a 4-3 victory for the No. 1 seed Liberty Lady Flames over No. 2 seed Western Kentucky in the Conference USA Championship title game, Saturday at NM State Softball Complex.
Liberty (36-23) won four straight elimination games this week after dropping its first game on Thursday against No. 4 seed New Mexico State. The Lady Flames defeated UTEP on Thursday before eliminating both Louisiana Tech and NM State yesterday.
With the win, Liberty claims Conference USA's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I Softball Championship. It is the seventh time in program history, and fourth in a row, in which Liberty will compete in the Regional. The Lady Flames won conference tournament titles in 2002, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2022 and this year. They received an at-large bid last season.
Today's championship game was winner-take-all, so Western Kentucky (33-20-1) sees its season end after going 2-1 in this week's championship. The Hilltoppers defeated No. 3 seed Louisiana Tech on Thursday and No. 4 seed NM State yesterday to make it into today's championship game.
Scoring Summary
WKU – 1st INNING – White doubles to left center, 1-0
WKU – 5th INNING – Sharpe reaches on fielder's choice, RBI, Hage advances, White out at third, Sanders scores, 2-0
Liberty – 5th INNING – McManus singles to left, Roupe advances, Wilson scores, 2-1
WKU – 6th INNING – Schmidt homers to left, 3-1
Liberty – 6th INNING – Roberts singles, Barrett advances, Heidorn scores, 3-2
Liberty – 6th INNING – Wilson singles to right, Barrett scores, 3-3
Liberty – 9th INNING – Jessee doubles to left center, Fortner scores, 4-3
Turning Point
The Lady Flames will find out their postseason seeding and Regional assignment tomorrow. The selection show for the 2024 NCAA Division I Softball Championship will air live on ESPN2 tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET.
Liberty (36-23) won four straight elimination games this week after dropping its first game on Thursday against No. 4 seed New Mexico State. The Lady Flames defeated UTEP on Thursday before eliminating both Louisiana Tech and NM State yesterday.
With the win, Liberty claims Conference USA's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I Softball Championship. It is the seventh time in program history, and fourth in a row, in which Liberty will compete in the Regional. The Lady Flames won conference tournament titles in 2002, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2022 and this year. They received an at-large bid last season.
Today's championship game was winner-take-all, so Western Kentucky (33-20-1) sees its season end after going 2-1 in this week's championship. The Hilltoppers defeated No. 3 seed Louisiana Tech on Thursday and No. 4 seed NM State yesterday to make it into today's championship game.
Scoring Summary
WKU – 1st INNING – White doubles to left center, 1-0
WKU – 5th INNING – Sharpe reaches on fielder's choice, RBI, Hage advances, White out at third, Sanders scores, 2-0
Liberty – 5th INNING – McManus singles to left, Roupe advances, Wilson scores, 2-1
WKU – 6th INNING – Schmidt homers to left, 3-1
Liberty – 6th INNING – Roberts singles, Barrett advances, Heidorn scores, 3-2
Liberty – 6th INNING – Wilson singles to right, Barrett scores, 3-3
Liberty – 9th INNING – Jessee doubles to left center, Fortner scores, 4-3
Turning Point
- Liberty had bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh in a 3-3 tie. WKU's Rylan Smith fanned two batters to send the game to extra innings.
- WKU loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the eighth. Elena Escobar got Kelsey Schmidt to fly out. Then, TJ Webster lined one into shallow right center. Liberty center fielder Mary Claire Wilson made a running catch, and caught Sophie Weber off second for the inning-ending double play.
- The Lady Flames quickly ended the game in the ninth. Megan Fortner hit a leadoff double and Jessee followed with a two-base gapper to left center for the walk-off win, setting off an ensuing championship celebration.
- Liberty outhit WKU 10-3 for the game. Both teams committed one error. The Lady Flames turned two double plays, while the Hilltoppers had one double play. Liberty left 12 runners on base, compared to 10 stranded for WKU.
- Elena Escobar (14-5) earned the win, allowing two runs on two hits, walking four and striking out three in 6 2/3 relief innings. Kaylan Yoder allowed one unearned on one hit, walking four and fanning four in 2 1/3 innings.
- Rylan Smith (12-7) drew the loss, allowing one run on five hits, walking two and striking out two in 2 2/3 innings. Katie Gardner yielded three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.
- Mary Claire Wilson went 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored. Megan Fortner batted 2-for-4 with a double and one run scored. Savannah Jessee, Brynn McManus and Brooke Roberts had one RBI each.
- Annie White went 2-for-4 with one RBI for WKU, while Kesley Schmidt batted 1-for-4 with a solo homer.
- Liberty is now 3-4 all-time against WKU in softball, including 3-1 this season.
- Liberty's Brooke Roberts was named Conference USA Tournament MVP. The Lady Flames also placed Elena Escobar, Savannah Jessee, Brynn McManus and Mary Claire Wilson.
- Liberty is 6-5 all-time in conference tournament final games, including 4-1 under Head Coach Dot Richardson.
- The Lady Flames are 10-5 in one-run games and 3-1 in extra-inning contests this season.
- Liberty made its way all the way back through the losers' bracket to win a conference title for the second time. When the Lady Flames captured the 2011 Big South Championship, they opened with a loss to the host team, Winthrop before winning four elimination games over the next two days to claim the tournament title.
- The Lady Flames became just the second team to win the CUSA Softball Championship after losing its first game. In 2004, DePaul lost to Houston in the first game of the tournament. The Blue Demons rallied through the losers' bracket, winning the championship game against Houston.
- Liberty is also the first team since Western Kentucky in 2015 to win the Conference USA Softball Championship in its first season in the league.
- Today was Liberty's seventh walk-off win in conference tournament history, but first time that the Lady Flames won the conference championship via walk-off win.
- Wilson recorded her second three-hit game of the season.
- Fortner has hit 49 career doubles and 39 career homers, spanning her time at Jacksonville State and Liberty.
The Lady Flames will find out their postseason seeding and Regional assignment tomorrow. The selection show for the 2024 NCAA Division I Softball Championship will air live on ESPN2 tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Escobar, Elena (14-5)
L: R. Smith (12-7)
Batting:
2B: A. White 1
HR: K. Schmidt 1
RBI: A. White 1 ; M. Sharpe 1 ; K. Schmidt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: T. Sanders 2 ; K. Schmidt 1
HBP: B. Hage 2
Batting:
2B: Wilson, Mary Claire 1 ; Fortner, Megan 1 ; Jessee, Savannah 1
RBI: Wilson, Mary Claire 1 ; McManus, Brynn 1 ; Jessee, Savannah 1 ; Roberts, Brooke 1
SH: Jessee, Savannah 1 ; Craine, Rachel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wilson, Mary Claire 1 ; Fortner, Megan 1 ; Heidorn, Lilly 1 ; Barrett, Raigan 1
HBP: Roberts, Brooke 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
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