Lady Flames Knock Off No. 11 Georgia, Advance to Regional Final
5/18/2024 2:25:00 PM | Softball
ATHENS, Ga. - Liberty broke a 3-3 tie with a four-run fourth inning, knocking off No. 11 national seed Georgia 7-3 on Saturday at Jack Turner Stadium.
The Lady Flames (38-23) won their sixth game in a row, advancing to tomorrow's Regional final. The consolation bracket winner will have to beat Liberty twice to advance to the Super Regional. The Athens Regional winner will take on the winner of the Los Angeles Regional in a three-game Super Regional series next weekend.
Georgia falls to 40-17, and will face the winner of UNCW and Charlotte in an elimination game at 4 p.m. today.
Scoring Summary
Georgia – 1st INNING – Goodnight homers down right field line, 1-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – Fortner flies out to center field, sacrifice fly, Roupe scores, 1-1
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Roberts homers down right field line, Madrey scores, 3-1
Georgia – 4th INNING – Kuma walks, Mosley and Kearney advance, Eaton scores, 3-2
Georgia – 4th INNING – Goodwin singles through right side, Kuma and Mosley advance, Kearney scores, 3-3
Liberty – 4th INNING – Craine hit by pitch, Roberts and Madrey advance, Barrett scores, 4-3
Liberty – 4th INNING – McManus doubles up the middle, Roupe, Craine and Roberts score, 7-3
Turning Point
The Lady Flames (38-23) won their sixth game in a row, advancing to tomorrow's Regional final. The consolation bracket winner will have to beat Liberty twice to advance to the Super Regional. The Athens Regional winner will take on the winner of the Los Angeles Regional in a three-game Super Regional series next weekend.
Georgia falls to 40-17, and will face the winner of UNCW and Charlotte in an elimination game at 4 p.m. today.
Scoring Summary
Georgia – 1st INNING – Goodnight homers down right field line, 1-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – Fortner flies out to center field, sacrifice fly, Roupe scores, 1-1
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Roberts homers down right field line, Madrey scores, 3-1
Georgia – 4th INNING – Kuma walks, Mosley and Kearney advance, Eaton scores, 3-2
Georgia – 4th INNING – Goodwin singles through right side, Kuma and Mosley advance, Kearney scores, 3-3
Liberty – 4th INNING – Craine hit by pitch, Roberts and Madrey advance, Barrett scores, 4-3
Liberty – 4th INNING – McManus doubles up the middle, Roupe, Craine and Roberts score, 7-3
Turning Point
- Liberty led Georgia 3-1 entering the fourth inning. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with nobody out. Elena Escobar came on in relief, walking the first batter she saw. Georgia tied the game on an RBI hit by Jaydyn Goodwin. However, the next three batters recorded outs, keeping the game tied at 3-3.
- The Lady Flames also loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fourth. Rachel Craine was hit by a pitch, giving Liberty the go-ahead run. After two outs, Brynn McManus cleared the bases with a three-run double, making it 7-3.
- Georgia's Sara Mosley led off the sixth inning with a single. However, Rachel Roupe chased down a foul ball off the bat of Sydney Kuma, firing the second for the double play.
- Liberty outhit Georgia 8-5 for the game. The Bulldogs recorded one error, while the Lady Flames turned two double plays. Both teams left three runners on base.
- Elena Escobar (16-5) earned the win for the second day in a row, pitching four innings of two-hit softball while allowing two hits and one walk while striking out three. Kaylan Yoder started and yielded three runs on three hits, walking one and fanning two in three innings pitched.
- Shelby Walters (9-8) drew the loss, allowing four runs on three hits, walking one and striking out two in 3 1/3 relief innings. Georgia starter Lilli Backes gave up three runs on five hits, striking out two in 2 2/3 innings.
- McManus went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI, while Brooke Roberts batted 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored. Megan Fortner went 1-for-2 with a triple, sacrifice fly and one RBI. Rachel Roupe (two runs), Raigan Barrett (one run) and KK Madrey (one run) all had one hit apiece.
- For Georgia, Sara Mosley went 2-for-3, while Dallis Goodnight led the game off with a home run. Jayda Kearney and Jaydyn Goodwin both went 1-for-3.
- The Lady Flames advance to their fourth NCAA Regional final and second in a row. This is the second time that Liberty has opened a Regional with a 2-0 record, as the Lady Flames won their first two games at the 2018 Columbia Regional before falling twice to South Carolina on Regional final Sunday.
- Liberty is now 2-1 all-time against Georgia in softball, with all three meetings coming in NCAA Regional play. These two teams split a pair of meetings at the 2022 Durham Regional.
- Liberty is now 6-9 against Top 25 teams this season, topping last year's four nationally-ranked wins for the most Top 25 victories in a single season in program history.
- Liberty is 9-8 in NCAA Regional play under current Head Coach Dot Richardson and 9-12 all-time. This is the fourth time Liberty has beaten a Regional host (South Carolina in 2018, Tennessee in 2021, UCLA in 2023, Georgia in 2024).
- Liberty's seven runs scored today set a new program record for runs scored in a single Regional game (scored six yesterday against Charlotte and versus Tennessee in 2021).
- Liberty was one of four Regional No. 3 seeds to win its opener this weekend.
- McManus' two doubles are the most by a Lady Flame in an NCAA Regional game all-time.
- Fortner became the third player in program history with an NCAA postseason triple, joining Madison Via (2018 vs. Hofstra) and Mary Claire Wilson (2023 vs. Grand Canyon).
- Roberts is the ninth Lady Flame to homer in NCAA Regionals and first since Megan Fortner against San Diego State last year.
Players Mentioned
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