Lady Flames Set to Open Season at THE Spring Games

Liberty, ranked 20th in the Softball America Preseason Top 25 and 24th in the D1Softball.com poll, opens its season with 11 straight games in Florida for the second year in a row. The Lady Flames compete in THE Spring Games in Leesburg, Fla., Friday through Sunday, taking on Radford, Louisville, Cleveland State and Rutgers.

THE Spring Games
Sleepy Hollow Softball Complex
Leesburg, Fla.
Friday, Feb.7
Liberty vs. Radford - 4 p.m. (Field 4)
Liberty vs. Louisville - 6:30 p.m. (Field 4)

Saturday, Feb. 8
Liberty vs. Cleveland State - 1 p.m. (Field 1)
Liberty vs. Rutgers - 3:30 p.m. (Field 4)

Sunday, Feb. 9
Liberty vs. Rutgers - Noon (Field 4)

The Lady Flames qualified for their fourth straight NCAA Regional last season, winning both the CUSA regular-season and tournament titles. Liberty defeated Charlotte and Georgia at the Athens Regional and came within one out of its first-ever Super Regional berth last year.
For the seventh year in a row, Liberty is the preseason conference favorite, as the Lady Flames were first in the CUSA preseason poll. Senior Rachel Roupe was named CUSA Preseason Player of the Year, while senior Elena Escobar was voted as CUSA Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Liberty earned a program-record six victories over Top 25 opponents last year, including wins over No. 10 LSU and No. 11 Georgia.
Rachel Roupe has drawn national attention, being listed No. 38 in Softball America's Preseason Top 100 Players List and No. 42 on the D1Softball.com Preseason D100. She hit .362 while leading CUSA in doubles (17), on base percentage (.509) and OPS (1.273) last year.
Escobar anchors the pitching staff. After transferring from North Alabama, she earned CUSA and NFCA All-Region second team honors. She went 16-7 last year, tying for the CUSA lead in wins.
Brynn McManus batted .303 last year, including a team-best .556 in the Athens Regional. CUSA Tournament MVP Brooke Roberts homered twice at Regionals in 2024. KK Madrey returns after leading Liberty with 17 steals. Savannah Jessee earned CUSA All-Tournament Team honors last season.
Kaylan Yoder was named to the CUSA All-Conference first team and NFCA All-Region third team as a freshman, going 11-9 with a 2.99 ERA. Katie Love tossed a no-hitter against Jax State and also had a shutout at nationally-ranked Virginia. Liberty boasts a deep pitching staff of seven pitchers this season.

Schedule

Lady Flames Set to Open Season at THE Spring Games

Players Mentioned

Elena Escobar

Savannah Jessee

Katie Love

KK Madrey

Brynn McManus

Brooke Roberts

Rachel Roupe

Kaylan Yoder