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 face Saint Francis (26-24) Friday at 3:30 p.m.
“Shocked.” That’s how Liberty head coach Dot Richardson described her team’s reaction when learning the Flames will be heading to Texas to play in a regional with the No. 1 overall national seed, Texas A&M. Coming on the heels of one of the Flames’ best seasons in school history, having been ranked in the top 25 most of the season, and with an RPI in the top 30, Liberty was hoping for a better draw.
Liberty is 1-3 all-time against Texas A&M in softball, including 1-1 at Davis Diamond, the host site for this weekend’s regional. The Lady Flames defeated the No. 19 Aggies 4-2 on Feb. 15, 2019 in College Station, Texas, and, the following day, Texas A&M edged Liberty 1-0. Those two games were part of the 2019 Texas A&M Invitation, Liberty went 3-2 in five games played at Davis Diamond as part of the event.
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 has posted wins over 2025 NCAA Regional participants Alabama, North Carolina, UCF and Virginia so far this season. 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.
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.
“We’ve got a pretty good track record of being able to take down host teams, but to do it twice is what we’re looking to do,” said Coach Richardson. “Hopefully this year will be it with an amazing task that we’re going to have to face the number one ranked team in the country. We are excited to be at Texas A&M and be at that Regional.”
Before worrying about Texas A&M, Liberty must take on one of the hottest softball teams in the country as Marist has won 17 straight games. The Red Foxes enter regional play as champions of the MAAC, defeating Siena on Sunday, 10-2 in 5 innings, to claim the title. Marist is 47-7-1 on the season and a dominating 21-2-1 in conference play. This year’s MAAC championship is its fourth under head coach Joe Ausanio and second in the past three years. Kiley Myers is 22-1 this season for Marist with a 1.50 ERA in 24 starts. She has 16 complete games and has struck out 110 in 140 innings. The Lady Flames are 4-0 all-time versus Marist, with the last meeting coming in the 2011 season.
“They have a good pitcher in the circle,” Richardson said of Marist. “We’ve been watching her, and they have a couple of good hitters that are hitting in the .400s. We’ve got to take them seriously. We are not overlooking them at all. We can’t. We have to play one pitch at a time, that’s our focus.”
Liberty’s Elena Escobar has fought through injuries throughout the season and appears to be ready to go for this weekend’s challenge. She has a 22-3 record this season with a 1.83 ERA and is coming off a week where she was named CUSA Tournament MVP after going 3-0 with a 0.33 ERA, 20 strikeouts, and just four walks last week.
Richardson also has a very talented lineup highlighted by senior right fielder Rachel Roupe. Named CUSA Player of the Year, Roupe has a .382 batting average with 20 home runs. KK Madrey is batting .406 on the season and has 48 steals. Paige Doerr (.360 BA), Savannah Woodard (.340 BA), and Brynn McManus (.330 BA) are also strong bats that highlight an explosive offensive attack.
“This is without a doubt the strongest team athletically, talent-wise, that I’ve had in the 12 years here,” Richardson said of her squad. “They are on a mission and the mission is to glorify God in all that we do. The best way to do that is to use the gifts He has given us at the highest level, and we are going to be at that platform this weekend.”
The goal for this year’s Liberty softball team has been the same since the team was eliminated in the regional final against Georgia last year. The Lady Flames want to taste the Super Regionals for the first time in program history. The path is more challenging than anticipated being placed in the No. 1 overall seed’s region. The Flames have a deep and veteran roster that has achieved many high water moments during their careers. They hope they have at least one more up their sleeves.
“We definitely believe that we can take down some higher ranked teams in our region,” Richardson said. “We’ve done it. When you do something you know you’re capable of doing, you want to continue doing it, but we also know we want to finish. We have to finish it.”
