No. 1 Seed Liberty to Begin CUSA Title Defense Against No. 4 Seed LA Tech
5/7/2025 5:53:00 PM | Softball
Top-seeded Liberty (44-11, 23-3 CUSA) will look to earn back-to-back conference tournament titles at the 2025 CUSA Softball Championship, held Wednesday through Saturday at WKU Softball Complex in Bowling Green, Ky. The Lady Flames will open play in the quarterfinal round on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. local) against No. 4 seed Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs overcame a 4-1 deficit in the seventh inning today, hitting a pair of two-run homers to earn a walk-off 5-4 win over No. 5 seed New Mexico State.
Championship Coverage
• The Lady Flames aim to become the first team since East Carolina (2010-11) to win back-to-back CUSA Softball Championship titles.
• Liberty has been ranked in the Top 25 every week but two this season. The Lady Flames are listed among "others receiving votes" in all four major national polls this week, carrying an RPI of 28.
• The Lady Flames swept FIU in their final regular-season series, outscoring the Panthers 20-0. It marked the fifth time in program history that Liberty has gone an entire three-game series without allowing a run.
• Liberty has won six conference tournament titles, including three in the Big South (2002, 2011, 2018), two in the Atlantic Sun (2021-22) and the 2024 CUSA Softball Championship.
• Liberty features this year's CUSA Player of the Year (Rachel Roupe), Pitcher of the Year (Elena Escobar), Newcomer of the Year (Savanah Whatley) and Coach of the Year (Dot Richardson).
• The Lady Flames hit seven homers in a doubleheader sweep over WKU at WKU Softball Complex in March, including a season-high five-homer outburst in game two.
• Individually, Rachel Roupe is tied for 11th in NCAA Division I in both homers (20) and doubles (18), 16th in RBI (63) and 10th in total bases (142), while KK Madrey is third with 46 steals. Elena Escobar is tied for 24th nationally with 19 wins.
• Seven out of Liberty's nine regular starters bat .300 or better. KK Madrey hits .405 with a CUSA-leading 46 stolen bases. Rachel Roupe (.385) leads the CUSA with 18 doubles, 20 homers and 63 RBI. Oregon State transfers Paige Doerr (.356) and Savanah Whatley (.354) provide offensive punch. Savannah Woodard (.328, 7 HR, 37 RBI) has thrived in the leadoff spot. Brynn McManus (.327, 14 2B, 8 HR, 40 RBI) and Brooke Roberts (.284, 4 HR, 32 RBI) are both strong run producers. Catcher Savannah Jessee bats .312 with two homers and 24 RBI.
• 2024 NFCA All-Region second team pitcher Elena Escobar is 19-3 with a 2.08 ERA overall and five shutouts, including a stellar 12-0 record and 1.33 ERA in CUSA play. Escobar tossed a two-hit shutout in her last start, Saturday against FIU. Kaylan Yoder (9-4, 2.37) leads CUSA in opponents batting average overall (.196). Paige Bachman is 11-3 with a 2.61 ERA overall, tossing a shutout on Friday against FIU. Liberty has not allowed a single run to score in its last 21 2/3 innings pitched.
Championship Coverage
- CUSA Softball Championship (WKU Softball Complex - Bowling Green, Ky.)
- May 7-10
- TV: ESPN+ (CBS Sports - Championship)
- Live Stats: StatBroadcast
- Championship Central
• The Lady Flames aim to become the first team since East Carolina (2010-11) to win back-to-back CUSA Softball Championship titles.
• Liberty has been ranked in the Top 25 every week but two this season. The Lady Flames are listed among "others receiving votes" in all four major national polls this week, carrying an RPI of 28.
• The Lady Flames swept FIU in their final regular-season series, outscoring the Panthers 20-0. It marked the fifth time in program history that Liberty has gone an entire three-game series without allowing a run.
• Liberty has won six conference tournament titles, including three in the Big South (2002, 2011, 2018), two in the Atlantic Sun (2021-22) and the 2024 CUSA Softball Championship.
• Liberty features this year's CUSA Player of the Year (Rachel Roupe), Pitcher of the Year (Elena Escobar), Newcomer of the Year (Savanah Whatley) and Coach of the Year (Dot Richardson).
• The Lady Flames hit seven homers in a doubleheader sweep over WKU at WKU Softball Complex in March, including a season-high five-homer outburst in game two.
• Individually, Rachel Roupe is tied for 11th in NCAA Division I in both homers (20) and doubles (18), 16th in RBI (63) and 10th in total bases (142), while KK Madrey is third with 46 steals. Elena Escobar is tied for 24th nationally with 19 wins.
• Seven out of Liberty's nine regular starters bat .300 or better. KK Madrey hits .405 with a CUSA-leading 46 stolen bases. Rachel Roupe (.385) leads the CUSA with 18 doubles, 20 homers and 63 RBI. Oregon State transfers Paige Doerr (.356) and Savanah Whatley (.354) provide offensive punch. Savannah Woodard (.328, 7 HR, 37 RBI) has thrived in the leadoff spot. Brynn McManus (.327, 14 2B, 8 HR, 40 RBI) and Brooke Roberts (.284, 4 HR, 32 RBI) are both strong run producers. Catcher Savannah Jessee bats .312 with two homers and 24 RBI.
• 2024 NFCA All-Region second team pitcher Elena Escobar is 19-3 with a 2.08 ERA overall and five shutouts, including a stellar 12-0 record and 1.33 ERA in CUSA play. Escobar tossed a two-hit shutout in her last start, Saturday against FIU. Kaylan Yoder (9-4, 2.37) leads CUSA in opponents batting average overall (.196). Paige Bachman is 11-3 with a 2.61 ERA overall, tossing a shutout on Friday against FIU. Liberty has not allowed a single run to score in its last 21 2/3 innings pitched.
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/ 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