Friday, April 11
Las Cruces, NM
8:00 PM ET/6:00 PM MT
Liberty University
35-8, 14-1
5
at
1
New Mexico State
21-18, 8-8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Liberty
0
1
0
1
0
1
2
5
12
0
NM State
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
10
1
Liberty Opens Series at NM State With 5-1 Win
4/11/2025 11:12:00 PM | Softball
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The No. 21 Liberty Lady Flames pulled away late for a series-opening 5-1 win over New Mexico State, Friday at NM State Softball Complex.
Liberty improves to 35-8 on the season, including a CUSA-leading 14-1 in conference play with its fourth win in a row. Meanwhile, the Aggies fall to 21-18, 8-8 in CUSA play with their fourth straight loss.
Liberty was ranked No. 21 in both the Softball America and D1 Softball Top 25 Polls this week.
Liberty 5, New Mexico State 1
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Craine singles to right, Madrey scores, 1-0
NM State – 3rd INNING – Carley homers to left center, 1-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Roupe singles to right, Woodard advances to third, Whatley scores, 2-1
Liberty – 6th INNING – McManus singles to center, advances on error, Whatley scores, 3-1
Liberty – 7th INNING – Craine sacrifice fly to right, Doerr advances, Madrey scores, 4-1
Liberty – 7th INNING – Jessee singles to right center, Doerr scores, 5-1
Turning Point
The Lady Flames and Aggies continue this weekend's series tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET (4 p.m. MT) at NM State Softball Complex.
Liberty improves to 35-8 on the season, including a CUSA-leading 14-1 in conference play with its fourth win in a row. Meanwhile, the Aggies fall to 21-18, 8-8 in CUSA play with their fourth straight loss.
Liberty was ranked No. 21 in both the Softball America and D1 Softball Top 25 Polls this week.
Liberty 5, New Mexico State 1
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Craine singles to right, Madrey scores, 1-0
NM State – 3rd INNING – Carley homers to left center, 1-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Roupe singles to right, Woodard advances to third, Whatley scores, 2-1
Liberty – 6th INNING – McManus singles to center, advances on error, Whatley scores, 3-1
Liberty – 7th INNING – Craine sacrifice fly to right, Doerr advances, Madrey scores, 4-1
Liberty – 7th INNING – Jessee singles to right center, Doerr scores, 5-1
Turning Point
- With both teams trading scoring chances in a 1-1 game, Liberty went ahead for good in the top of the fourth. With two outs and nobody on, Savanah Whatley singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Savannah Woodard walked, Rachel Roupe gave Liberty a 2-1 lead with an RBI single.
- The Lady Flames added one in the sixth and two in the seventh and Paige Bachman nailed down a three-inning save.
- Liberty outhit NM State 12-10 for the game. The Lady Flames left 10 runners on base compared to nine stranded by the Aggies.
- Elena Escobar improved to 16-3 on the season with the win, including 9-0 in CUSA games. She allowed one run on six hits, walking one and fanning five in four innings. Bachman earned her second save, tossing three innings of shutout relief while allowing four hits and striking out four.
- Faith Aragon (8-7) drew the loss, yielding three runs on nine hits, walking four and striking out three in 5 2/3 innings before giving way to Zantelle Rodriguez.
- KK Madrey went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases and two runs scored, while Paige Doerr batted 2-for-3 and scored once. Brynn McManus batted 2-for-4 with one RBI, while Savannah Jessee went 2-for-4 with a double and one RBI.
- For the Aggies, Devin Elam went 3-for-4 while Lauren Garcia batted 2-for-3.
- Liberty leads NM State 6-3 in the all-time series, with the Lady Flames winning each of the last two meetings.
- The Lady Flames are 13-1 on Friday this season.
- Escobar has matched her win total from all of last year, as she has won 32 games as a Lady Flame.
- Rachel Craine is now in sole possession of second place in program history with 11 career sacrifice flies, passing Alexia Taylor (2015-18) tonight.
- Doerr improved her hitting streak to 10 games, while Roupe has reached base in each of the last 15 games and Woodard has reached in 12 games in a row.
- Madrey posted her fourth three-steal game of the season. Her 34 stolen bases this season are the most by a Lady Flame since Katie Zavodny's program-record 41 steals in 2013.
- Madrey is now in sole possession of third place in program history with 77 stolen bases, passing Tori Zavodny (2015-18).
The Lady Flames and Aggies continue this weekend's series tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET (4 p.m. MT) at NM State Softball Complex.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Escobar, Elena (16-3)
L: ARAGON, Faith (8-7)
S: Bachman, Paige (2)
Batting:
2B: Jessee, Savannah 1
RBI: Roupe, Rachel 1 ; McManus, Brynn 1 ; Craine, Rachel 2 ; Jessee, Savannah 1
SH: Doerr, Paige 1
SF: Craine, Rachel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Madrey, KK 2 ; Doerr, Paige 1 ; Whatley, Savanah 2
SB: Madrey, KK 3 ; Doerr, Paige 2
CS: Norris, Aubry 1
HBP: Roupe, Rachel 1
Batting:
HR: CARLEY, Riley 1
RBI: CARLEY, Riley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CARLEY, Riley 1
PO: CARRANZA, Tamara 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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INF
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INF
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