LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Liberty softball program earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Softball tournament for the first time in school history. The Flames will be in the Los Angeles Regional and will open play against San Diego State on Friday at 11 p.m. eastern. This will mark the third ever meeting between the Flames and Aztecs.
Also in the Los Angeles Regional is No. 2 overall seed UCLA and Grand Canyon. The Lady Flames fell 3-2 at UCLA on Feb. 14, facing the Bruins’ ace Megan Faraimo. UCLA holds a 6-0 record all-time against Liberty, with three out of the six meetings being decided by just one run each.
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Liberty (38-20) finished second in ASUN standings this season to No. 24 Central Arkansas, going 19-5 in conference play. The Lady Flames won their first game at the ASUN Softball Championship before falling in back-to-back extra-inning games to North Alabama and eventual ASUN champion UCA on Friday.
Junior Karlie Keeney and sophomore KK Madrey were named to the ASUN All-Tournament Team.
The Lady Flames have gone 37-11 in their last 48 games after starting the season with a 1-9 record. Liberty is 3-12 against Top 25 teams this season (including 3-4 in last seven against nationally-ranked teams) and has the seventh toughest nonconference strength of schedule in program history.
This will be Liberty’s sixth appearance all-time in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship and third in a row. Competing in the NCAA Softball Championship for the fifth time, Liberty opened the 2022 Durham Regional with a 2-0 victory over No. 19 Georgia, riding a 13-strikeout three-hitter by Emily Kirby ad a two-run homer from Caroline Hudson. The Lady Flames then fell to host Duke and Georgia in back-to-back games, going 1-2 at the Durham Regional
Liberty holds a record of 38-20 and went 19-5 in ASUN play.