Liberty falls to #1 Texas A&M, 14-11, in extras, forcing winner take all game 7

What an emotional roller-coaster for Liberty softball in the first of two games in the Regional Final in College Station against the No. 1 overall seed Texas A&M. The Flames lost, 14-11, in eight innings, forcing a winner-take-all game seven of this regional later Sunday night with first pitch scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.

The Lady Flames struck first as Savannah Woodard led off the bottom of the first with a home run. After Rachel Roupe helped eliminate a Texas A&M threat in the second as she gunned out a runner at home from trying to score from third on a fly ball to right field. Liberty would add to its lead with five runs in the second, taking a massive 6-0 lead. The inning was highlighted by Roupe’s 21st home run of the season, a grand slam.

As expected the Aggies would start chipping away at the Liberty lead, adding one in the third with an RBI single. The host team would explode for six runs in the fourth to take their first lead of the game at 7-6. Liberty had two errors in the inning, a sign of things to come throughout the game, while A&M blasted two home runs and scored four of their runs with two outs.

The Aggies would continue to pile on, looking like they would win going away, adding three more runs in the fifth, pushing their advantage to 10-6. Roupe’s defensive heroics would again come up big for the Flames, helping to limit the damage as she doubled the runner off first after securing a fly out to end the threat.

Brynn McManus missed a three-run home run by just inches as her ball in the bottom of the sixth hit off the wall, it did score one run as Liberty cut the deficit to three. The Aggies made it 11-7 scoring one in the top of the seventh, in part due to another Liberty error.

Entering the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Flames trailed by four and looked destined to be headed to another game against Texas A&M. But the two-time defending CUSA champions would not go down quietly. The first two hitters in the inning singled before Alexia Carrasquillo would pinch-hit and have an RBI single off the outfield wall, scoring one run. Savannah Whatley followed with an RBI single, cutting the deficit to two at 11-9. Woodard then grounded out moving the runners to second and third as Rachel Roupe stepped to the plate.

Roupe singled back up the middle, scoring a run to make it 11-10. McManus would walk to load the bases before Alyssa Henault was hit by a pitch to tie the contest. KK Madrey, with the bases loaded, battled to a full count before flying out to left field, ending the Liberty threat and sending the game to extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, the Aggies took advantage of a sixth Liberty error on what should have been the second out of the inning. Texas A&M would plate three runs in the inning before retiring Liberty in order to end the game and force a winner-take-all game seven.

Elena Escobar pitched 3.2 innings, allowing seven runs on 11 hits. Paige Bachman drew the loss, allowing seven runs, three of them earned, on seven hits in 4.1 innings of relief.

After Liberty chased the first two Texas A&M pitchers in the second, Kate Munnerlyn was strong in relief. She ended up allowing five runs on eight hits in five innings, with most of that damage coming in the sixth and seventh innings.

*photo courtesy Liberty Athletics