Postgame Press Conference

Liberty jumped out to a 4-0 lead on Saturday at Easton Stadium against Grand Canyon, earning a 5-1 win over the Lopes and advancing to tomorrow’s final of the NCAA Los Angeles Regional.

The Lady Flames (40-21) will compete in a Regional final for the third time in program history (also 2018, 2021). Liberty will take on San Diego State at 6 p.m. on Sunday and will need to beat the Aztecs twice in order to advance to the first Super Regional in program history. Liberty eliminated both No. 2 UCLA (2-1) and Grand Canyon (5-1) today.

GCU sees its best season in program history end at 47-13. The Lopes opened the Los Angeles Regional with a 3-2 win over host UCLA yesterday before falling to SDSU and Liberty today.

Scoring Summary
Liberty – 1st INNING – Roupe homers to left field, Howard scores, 2-0
Liberty – 4th INNING – Woodard steals second, Heidorn steals home, 3-0
Liberty – 5th INNING – Fortner homers to left, 4-0
GCU – 5th INNING – Branes singles to center, Rodgers advances, Rodrigues scores, 4-1
Liberty – 6th INNING – Hudson grounds out, Madrey scores, 5-1

Turning Point
– Liberty struck first, as Devyn Howard led off the bottom of the first with a single and Roupe hit a two-run blast for a 2-0 lead. The Lady Flames added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

– GCU broke up Keeney’s shutout bid with an unearned run in the fifth but could get no closer than 4-1.

Notable Numbers
– Liberty outhit Grand Canyon 9-3 for the game. The Lopes committed two errors compared to one for the Lady Flames. Liberty turned one double play while leading eight runners on base. GCU stranded just three.

– Keeney (27-11) earned her second win of the day, allowing one unearned run on three hits, walking one and striking out two.

– Meghan Golden (14-3) drew the loss, yielding two runs on two hits and allowing two walks in 1/3 of an inning before giving way to Ariel Thompson and Emily Darwin.

– Roupe homered for the second game in a row, going 1-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored. Megan Fortner hit her ninth homer of the season, while Mary Claire Wilson batted 2-for-4.

– Three different Lopes recorded one hit each, while Macee Barnes going 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Beyond the Box Score
– Liberty and Grand Canyon were meeting for the first time in softball.

– Liberty is now 7-11 all-time in NCAA Division I Softball Championship play, including 6-7 under 10th-year Head Coach Dot Richardson. Liberty is now 4-5 all-time in NCAA Regional games when facing elimination.

– This is the second time in program history that the Lady Flames have won twice on Saturday at Regionals. In 2021, Liberty eliminated Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee on the same day before falling to James Madison in the Knoxville Regional final.

– Both Liberty and San Diego State will be looking for their first Super Regional appearance. The Lady Flames are appearing in an NCAA Regional final for the third time, while the Aztecs are making their seventh Regional finals appearance.

– Liberty secured its sixth straight full season with 40 or more wins. The Lady Flames are one of six NCAA Division I softball programs with 40+ wins every year since 2017, joining Florida State, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and UCLA.

– Roupe and Hudson are the only pair of Lady Flames to record 50 or more RBI in the same season.

– Roupe and Hudson are the second pair of Liberty teammates to both hit 15 or more homers in the same season (2007 – Dawn Jeffs and Jessica Moore).

– Keeney is the first Lady Flame to record two complete-game victories in the same day since Katrina Johnson defeated Gardner-Webb twice on May 13, 2011 in the elimination round of the Big South Tournament.

– Keeney has recorded four NCAA Regional pitching victories, earning both wins on May 22, 2021 against EKU and Tennessee to advance to the Knoxville Regional final.

Featured in photo: Karlie Keeney