Friday, March 21
Jacksonville, AL
7:00 PM ET/6:00 PM CT
Liberty University
25-6, 6-0
3
at
0
Jacksonville State
20-10, 4-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Liberty
0
0
2
0
0
1
0
3
9
0
Jax State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
Liberty Blanks Jax State 3-0 in Series Opener
3/21/2025 9:22:00 PM | Softball
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Liberty softball team got a one-hit shutout from senior Elena Escobar, blanking Jacksonville State 3-0 in a CUSA series opener, Friday at Jana McGinnis Field.
The Lady Flames improve to 25-6 on the season and a perfect 6-0 in CUSA play. Meanwhile, Jax State falls to 20-10, 4-3 in conference games.
Â
Liberty 3, Jax State 0
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 3rd INNING – Roupe homers to center, Whatley scores, 2-0
Liberty – 6th INNING – Roberts singles up the middle, advances on throw, Roupe scores, 3-0
Â
Turning Point
Game two of this weekend's series will be held tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET (noon CT). Â Â
Â
The Lady Flames improve to 25-6 on the season and a perfect 6-0 in CUSA play. Meanwhile, Jax State falls to 20-10, 4-3 in conference games.
Â
Liberty 3, Jax State 0
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 3rd INNING – Roupe homers to center, Whatley scores, 2-0
Liberty – 6th INNING – Roberts singles up the middle, advances on throw, Roupe scores, 3-0
Â
Turning Point
- While Escobar kept the Gamecocks off balance, the Lady Flames got all of the scoring they would need on Rachel Roupe's two-run homer in the third inning.
- Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Jax State's Amber Reed lined one into the right-center gap where KK Madrey made a fantastic diving catch to maintain the one-hitter.Â
- Liberty outhit Jax State 9-1. The Lady Flames left four runners on base, compared to one stranded for the Gamecocks.
- Escobar (11-2) allowed just one hit and one walk, striking out six while fashioning her fourth shutout of the year.
- MacKinley Portillo (5-3) allowed two runs on five hits, striking out two in five innings before giving way to Jordan Eslinger.
- Roupe went 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored. Brooke Roberts and KK Madrey both hit 2-for-3, with Roberts doubling and driving in one.Â
- The Lady Flames lead the all-time series against Jax State, 5-1. Liberty has won each of the last five meetings, including all four matchups since both teams joined Conference USA prior to the 2024 campaign. The Lady Flames have outscored the Gamecocks by a combined 16-1 in four meetings as CUSA opponents.
- Liberty (6-0 in CUSA) is off to its best start to league play since winning its first 23 ASUN games in a row during the 2022 season.
- Escobar has tossed shutouts in all three of her CUSA starts this season, going 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA in conference play.
- Roupe has now hit six homers in the last seven games, homering in each of Liberty's last three CUSA contests.
- Craine extended her hitting streak to six games, reaching base for the eighth game in a row.
- Liberty was ranked No. 21 in both the Softball America and D1Softball Top 25 Polls this week.
- Liberty (2.18) and Jax State (2.25) entered the game with the best two team ERA's in Conference USA so far this season.
Game two of this weekend's series will be held tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET (noon CT). Â Â
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Escobar, Elena (11-2)
L: MacKinley Portillo (5-3)
Batting:
2B: Roberts, Brooke 1 ; Craine, Rachel 1
HR: Roupe, Rachel 1
RBI: Roupe, Rachel 2 ; Roberts, Brooke 1
SH: Doerr, Paige 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Roupe, Rachel 2 ; Whatley, Savanah 1
SB: Whatley, Savanah 1
Base Running:
CS: Haleigh Cushingberry 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballCoach Richardson, Elena Escobar & Rachel Roupe Talk About The Game Against Oregon
Sunday, May 25
Coach Richardson, Rachel Roupe & Paige Doerr Talk About The Game Against Oregon
Saturday, May 24
Lady Flames Softball Podcast: Breaking Down Liberty vs. Oregon, Rachel Roupe Drafted and More!
Thursday, May 22
Coach Richardson Talks About Preparing For Oregon
Tuesday, May 20