LIBERTY SOFTBALL DOES 'UNTHINKABLE,' BEATS TEXAS A&M TO WIN FIRST REGIONAL

 On a day in which our attention to sports figured to center on Toronto, where the Maple Leafs had taken defending Stanley Cup-champion Florida to Game 7 … and there was plenty of other stuff … even a look-back at Journalism’s one-for-the-ages stretch run to win the Preakness … to keep us more than routinely occupied … who would have believed a couple of softball games (that barely drew a blip on the national media’s radar) could have been so compelling that we were hooked?

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY’S FLAMES, from 

Lynchburg, Va., were wasting Texas A&M early on in 

yesterday’s NCAA softball regional, 6-1 … and all the 

talk from ESPN was about the heavily-favored Aggies. It 

was like they didn’t know (or care) about Liberty … So, 

naturally, neither KEVIN FITZGERALD nor NICOLE 

MENDES bothered to question what could have been 

not-too-subtle gamesmanship by A&M (a cynic might 

say), which delayed the bottom of the third inning more 

than five minutes. However, the best the network duo 

could do was speculate that the Aggies were having a 

problem deciding who should be their catcher … 

Anyhow, momentum quickly changed. The Flames 

imploded, allowing six runs in the top of the fourth. Five 

were unearned thanks to three errors accompanied by 

timely hitting by the tournament’s top-seeded team … not 

to mention some serious cheerleading from the network 

booth. 

(A close play at home – the throw beat the runner who 

nevertheless was ruled safe -- was not shown on replay … 

even though Fitzgerald kept referring to it as “the 

controversial call.”) … At least Liberty coach DOT 

RICHARDSON remained defiant. “What a great game! 

We’re in a great spot … and fun to watch. Just have to cut 

down on mistakes,” she said … after correcting Fitzgerald 

who said A&M just scored five runs. “Six … but who’s 

counting?” … As it turned out, Liberty scored four runs 

in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 11 … and, 

with the bases loaded and two out, the count 3-2, a high 

delivery that would have forced in the winning run 

instead became a lazy fly to left.

Given a reprieve, the Aggies, who lost to Liberty 8-5 

Saturday, finally won 14-11 with a three-run (all 

unearned) top of the eighth ... after another questionable 

call at the plate in the fifth. (This time ESPN did favor 

viewers with replay. The umpires got it wrong but, 

because Richardson already had used her two challenges, 

they could only huddle and, really, had little choice but to 

uphold the decision made on a very close play.) 

Playing on its home field at College Station, Texas A&M 

had to beat Liberty twice Sunday to advance to the Super 

Regional ... “The exciting thing is ... we believe. We’re 

fighting a lot of odds, as you are aware,” Richardson said 

at the outset of Game 2 … In fact, Mendes wondered how 

the Flames’ coach was able to keep her cool after the 

Aggies challenged (for obstruction) a rundown between 

third and home. The A&M runner was tagged out. 

Mendes thought she ran out of the base line and should 

have been called out, regardless … When the challenge 

was upheld, Mendes, a former All-American at 

Oklahoma, noted, “This the second time Liberty has had a 

big call go against them. If I’m Dot …” Too bad Mendes 

didn’t finish the thought with more than ... “I don’t think 

that was obstruction.” 

Instead of three outs, end of inning, the runner was sent 

back to third … and presently scored on a single to make 

it 3-0. “If you are Liberty, you have to be frustrated,” 

Mendes said, leading to one albeit brief (no slo-mo) look 

at the call that went against the Flames in the fourth 

inning of Game 1. “There have been a couple of ticky, 

ticky controversial calls in today’s very entertaining 

regional,” Fitzgerald said. Just a couple? Oh, never mind. 

To tell the truth, it was fun, borderline comical at times, to 

hear ESPN’s talking heads realize Liberty could (against 

all odds) pull off the upset, unthinkable – to them – 

though it might be.

Not to worry, Flames’ fans. RACHEL ROUPE’s three-

run home run in the top of the sixth proved the game-

winner … and sophomore KAYLAN YODER, a 

lefthander making her only appearance in College 

Station, shared late heroics as Liberty won 6-5 to leave 

A&M the first overall top seed not to advance to a super 

regional since they went to this format in 2005 … “I just 

did what I do best … hit dingers,” said Roupe, a senior 

who had three home runs (dingers), 9 RBI while going 4 

for 9 in Games 6 and 7… Conference USA player of the 

year, Roupe was MVP of the regional, too … defensively 

(throwing out two Aggies who mistakenly tested her arm 

from right field) as well as offensively. Her solo home … 

sorry, dinger … got Liberty its first run in the fifth. She 

also drilled a grand-slam dinger in the first game that 

lasted more than 3 1/2 hours.

Yoder came on in relief in the top of the sixth, one out, 

runners on first and second, with the go-ahead run at the 

plate. “The big thing with her … she struggles with 

control,” Mendes said … You think? First-team all-

conference as a freshman a year ago, Yoder last pitched 

nine days ago when she walked three, struck out one and 

gave up two hits and three earned runs in two innings of a 

9-5 loss to Jacksonville State ... Delaware, the state of, 

player of the year as a high school senior, Yoder 

apparently was not in Richardson’s regional plans … but 

wound up being called on when ace of the staff, ELENA 

ESCOBAR, making her third appearance in two days 

(throwing more than 400 pitches, believe it or not), was 

hit hard and removed from the game, visibly upset … 

crying as she went.

“Yoder, who hasn’t pitched all weekend, is coming in 

here, in the tensest of spots, to face the No. 1 team in the 

nation,” said Fitzgerald, like he couldn’t believe it. Yes, 

but … “you never know when you’re going to be called 

on. That’s why you’ve always got to be ready,” said 

Mendes, speaking from experience at OU.

The only lefty on the Liberty staff, the diminutive (5-5) 

Yoder WAS ready, all right. A flyout advanced the runners 

and, with two out, one scored on an infield single before 

Mia Perez (“feared slugger,” Fitzgerald called her) was 

late on a 3-2 fastball and skied out to left. Seventeen 

pitches, and Liberty still led by one, three outs from its 

first super regional … Facing the middle of the Aggies’ 

order in the seventh, Yoder eliminated No. 4 on a high, 

routine fly to 

center … before No. 5 singled up the middle “bringing 

rookie phenom JJ Dement to the plate … eight hits this 

weekend including three home runs,” Fitzgerald said. A 

3-0 count went to 3-2 before The Phenom lined out to 

right. Two down then a walk on four straight deliveries. 

Tying run at second, winning run on at first. Senior 

Kramer Eschete, batting eighth (.176), the left fielder up 

next, lefty-vs-lefty.

Cut to Yoder, who nods toward her dugout and appears to 

say, “I’ve got it.” Eschete takes five straight, the first two 

strikes, the next three not close (up and away). On 3-2 she 

swings at a delivery above the waist, that the 

regional umpires have been calling ‘balls,’ drawing looks 

that could kill ... and misses. Forty pitches in all. 

“BALL GAME OVER,” shouts Fitzgerald. “LIBERTY 

BREAKS THROUGH AND DOES THE 

UNTHINKABLE.”

Last words from Roupe. “Seeing God’s goodness … it’s 

just insane … It’s so surreal … it could be a dream but it

 is us … It took us, what, eight hours? But, we did it. It’s 

out of body, that’s for sure,” she said, adding, “It doesn’t 

surprise me. God bless! God bless!”