Liberty Selected to Compete in NCAA College Station Regional
5/11/2025 7:48:00 PM | Softball
Liberty (47-12) will open competition at the 2025 NCAA Division I Softball Championship on Friday, playing in the College Station Regional against Marist (47-7-1) on Friday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The No. 1 national seed, Texas A&M (45-9), will host the four-team regional, Friday through Sunday, at Davis Diamond. In the other side of the bracket, No. 1 seed Texas A&M will face Saint Francis (Pa.) (26-24), Friday at 3:30 p.m.
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NCAA College Station Regional Schedule
Davis Diamond
Friday, May 16
Game 1: Liberty vs. Marist – 1 p.m.
Game 2: No. 1 Texas A&M vs. Saint Francis (Pa.) – 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 17
Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner – TBA
Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser – TBA
Game 5: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner – TBA (loser eliminated)
Sunday, May 18
Game 6: Regional Final – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 winner – TBA
Game 7: * if necessary – Rematch of Game 6 – TBA
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The winner of this week's College Station Regional will face the winner of the Eugene Regional, next Friday through Sunday.
Liberty is 1-3 all-time against Texas A&M in softball, including 1-1 at Davis Diamond. The Lady Flames defeated the No. 19 Aggies 4-2 on Feb. 15, 2019 in College Station, Texas. In their last meeting, Texas A&M edged Liberty 1-0 on Feb. 16, 2019.
The Lady Flames are 4-0 all-time versus Marist, with the last meeting coming in the 2011 season.
Liberty is 3-5 against Saint Francis (Pa.), winning the last two meetings. Â
The Lady Flames (47-12) won both the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles for the second year in a row. Liberty posted a 23-3 conference record, claiming all nine CUSA series while setting a Conference USA single-season record for conference wins.
Liberty opened the CUSA Softball Championship with an 8-0 win over Louisiana Tech on Thursday. On Friday, the Lady Flames then fell to Jax State 7-2 in the semifinal before downing LA Tech 2-1 in 10 innings on a walk-off single by Paige Doerr. Liberty then claimed the title with an 8-0, five-inning victory over Jax State in the final on Saturday.
Senior pitcher Elena Escobar was named CUSA Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by sophomore outfielder Paige Doerr, senior outfielder KK Madrey and senior infielder Savannah Woodard.
Under the direction of 12th-year Head Coach Dot Richardson, the Lady Flames enter the NCAA Regional with the same exact record (47-12) as they did in 2018. Liberty has posted wins over 2025 NCAA Regional participants Alabama, North Carolina, UCF and Virginia so far this season. Â Â
This will be Liberty's eighth appearance all-time in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship and fifth in a row. Liberty and Miami (Ohio) are the only teams outside of the Power Four Conferences to appear in each of the last five NCAA Regionals (2021-25).
Liberty is 9-14 all-time in NCAA Softball Championship play, including 9-10 under Coach Richardson. The Lady Flames have made four NCAA Regional finals appearances under Coach Richardson (2018 in Columbia; 2021 in Knoxville; 2023 in Los Angeles; 2024 in Athens), defeating the Regional host in all four of those years.
The team made its first postseason appearance in 2002, competing in the Columbia, S.C., Regional against No. 1 UCLA and UMBC. The Lady Flames next qualified for the NCAA Knoxville Regional in 2011, falling to No. 5 Tennessee and No. 19 Georgia Tech.
Last year, the Lady Flames opened the Athens Regional with a pair of wins over Charlotte and the host, No. 11 Georgia. After falling to Georgia in game one of the Regional final, Liberty led 2-1 with a runner on second and two outs in the bottom of the seventh of the "if necessary" game. Needing just one out to qualify for the first Super Regional in program history, a pair of hits ended Liberty's tournament run, sending Georgia to the LA Super Regional.
In 2023, Liberty earned its first-ever at-large bid in softball and was sent to the Los Angeles Regional. After falling to San Diego State in the first round, the Lady Flames claimed arguably the biggest win in program history, eliminating No. 2 UCLA, 2-1. Liberty then knocked out Grand Canyon before losing to San Diego State in the Regional final. Â
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NCAA College Station Regional Schedule
Davis Diamond
Friday, May 16
Game 1: Liberty vs. Marist – 1 p.m.
Game 2: No. 1 Texas A&M vs. Saint Francis (Pa.) – 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 17
Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner – TBA
Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser – TBA
Game 5: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner – TBA (loser eliminated)
Sunday, May 18
Game 6: Regional Final – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 winner – TBA
Game 7: * if necessary – Rematch of Game 6 – TBA
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The winner of this week's College Station Regional will face the winner of the Eugene Regional, next Friday through Sunday.
Liberty is 1-3 all-time against Texas A&M in softball, including 1-1 at Davis Diamond. The Lady Flames defeated the No. 19 Aggies 4-2 on Feb. 15, 2019 in College Station, Texas. In their last meeting, Texas A&M edged Liberty 1-0 on Feb. 16, 2019.
The Lady Flames are 4-0 all-time versus Marist, with the last meeting coming in the 2011 season.
Liberty is 3-5 against Saint Francis (Pa.), winning the last two meetings. Â
The Lady Flames (47-12) won both the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles for the second year in a row. Liberty posted a 23-3 conference record, claiming all nine CUSA series while setting a Conference USA single-season record for conference wins.
Liberty opened the CUSA Softball Championship with an 8-0 win over Louisiana Tech on Thursday. On Friday, the Lady Flames then fell to Jax State 7-2 in the semifinal before downing LA Tech 2-1 in 10 innings on a walk-off single by Paige Doerr. Liberty then claimed the title with an 8-0, five-inning victory over Jax State in the final on Saturday.
Senior pitcher Elena Escobar was named CUSA Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by sophomore outfielder Paige Doerr, senior outfielder KK Madrey and senior infielder Savannah Woodard.
Under the direction of 12th-year Head Coach Dot Richardson, the Lady Flames enter the NCAA Regional with the same exact record (47-12) as they did in 2018. Liberty has posted wins over 2025 NCAA Regional participants Alabama, North Carolina, UCF and Virginia so far this season. Â Â
This will be Liberty's eighth appearance all-time in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship and fifth in a row. Liberty and Miami (Ohio) are the only teams outside of the Power Four Conferences to appear in each of the last five NCAA Regionals (2021-25).
Liberty is 9-14 all-time in NCAA Softball Championship play, including 9-10 under Coach Richardson. The Lady Flames have made four NCAA Regional finals appearances under Coach Richardson (2018 in Columbia; 2021 in Knoxville; 2023 in Los Angeles; 2024 in Athens), defeating the Regional host in all four of those years.
The team made its first postseason appearance in 2002, competing in the Columbia, S.C., Regional against No. 1 UCLA and UMBC. The Lady Flames next qualified for the NCAA Knoxville Regional in 2011, falling to No. 5 Tennessee and No. 19 Georgia Tech.
Last year, the Lady Flames opened the Athens Regional with a pair of wins over Charlotte and the host, No. 11 Georgia. After falling to Georgia in game one of the Regional final, Liberty led 2-1 with a runner on second and two outs in the bottom of the seventh of the "if necessary" game. Needing just one out to qualify for the first Super Regional in program history, a pair of hits ended Liberty's tournament run, sending Georgia to the LA Super Regional.
In 2023, Liberty earned its first-ever at-large bid in softball and was sent to the Los Angeles Regional. After falling to San Diego State in the first round, the Lady Flames claimed arguably the biggest win in program history, eliminating No. 2 UCLA, 2-1. Liberty then knocked out Grand Canyon before losing to San Diego State in the Regional final. Â
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