Liberty will begin NCAA Regional play on Friday at noon on ESPNU against James Madison. The Lady Flames and Dukes are two of the four teams represented in the Knoxville Regional where No. 9 national seed Tennessee is the host and will face Eastern Kentucky on Friday. The Knoxville Regional features an at-large team from the SEC in Tennessee as well as three conference champions.
Head coach Dot Richardson and Liberty will be looking to repeat some of the magic the Lady Flames had in 2018 when Liberty won its first two games in NCAA Regional action before falling to South Carolina in the regional final. That was the first time the program had ever won a game in the NCAA Softball Championships, after dropping all four games in its first two appearances.
The four teams will compete this weekend at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in a double-elimination format. The winner will advance to the Super Regionals and will face the winner of the Columbia Regional which features host No. 8 national seed Missouri, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, and UIC.
Here’s a look at the four teams in the Knoxville Regional this weekend, the only NCAA softball regional with three ranked teams:
#9 TENNESSEE
41-13 overall
12-11 in SEC play
finished 7th place in SEC
#9 in RPI
1.78 team ERA
.303 team batting average
63 team home runs
#25 LIBERTY
42-13 overall
16-2 in ASUN play
finished 1st place in ASUN
#17 in RPI
#2 seed in Regional
2.49 team ERA
.296 team batting average
52 team home runs
#21 JAMES MADISON
34-1 overall
17-1 in CAA play
finished 1st place in CAA
#9 in RPI
#9 national seed
#1 seed in Regional
1.78 team ERA
.303 team batting average
63 team home runs
EASTERN KENTUCKY
35-15 overall
22-9 in OVC play
finished 2nd place in OVC
#61 in RPI
#4 seed in Regional
3.42 team ERA
.263 team batting average
46 team home runs
James Madison won the CAA Tournament title with a 17-0 win against Delaware on Friday. The Dukes have won their past 24 games with their last, only loss, this season coming on March 27. JMU has not allowed a run in 43 innings, posting seven consecutive shutouts. This will be JMU’s eight straight NCAA appearance.
Kate Gordon was named the Most Outstanding Player of the CAA Tournament after going 7 for 9 at the plate recording two home runs in each of the three games, setting a tournament record for home runs and RBIs. For the season, Gordon is batting .417 with 17 home runs and 52 RBIs. Logan Newton tied a CAA Tournament record and JMU single-game record for RBIs as she recorded seven in the championship game against Delaware. Newton is batting .356 this season with 9 home runs and 33 RBIs.
Odicci Alexander leads the JMU pitching staff. She has a 0.62 ERA on the season and a 12-0 record while making 12 starts with 13 appearances. She has six shutouts and has struck out 138 batters in 79 innings pitched. She recorded a no-hitter and a two-hit shutout in the CAA Tournament. In the no-hitter, Alexander struck out 16 batters and came a walk shy of a perfect game. She struck out 28 of the 39 batters she faced over the course of 12 innings in the tournament.
Alissa Humphrey recorded a five inning no-hitter, her fourth of the season, to help the Dukes defeat Drexel 10-0 in the CAA semifinals. This season, Humphrey has a 1.47 ERA with 15 starts and 19 appearances. She has 11 complete games and owns a 13-0 record. She has struck out 132 batters in 86 innings pitched.
Liberty and JMU were scheduled to meet on March 6 in Lynchburg as part of the Liberty Invitational, but the Dukes were unable to participate due to COVID concerns. The two teams faced a number of similar opponents, with JMU going 8-0 against the likes of Virginia, East Carolina, Radford, and Longwood, Liberty was 9-0 against those same teams.
Liberty played 24 games against teams ranked in the top 100 of the RPI, amassing a 12-12 record while JMU faced seven teams against top 100 teams, finishing 7-0 against those teams. The Lady Flames played 11 teams that went on to reach the NCAA Championship, going 12-12 in those games, while JMU only played one team which advanced to the NCAAs, beating George Washington 8-4 all the way back on Feb. 27.
KNOXVILLE REGIONAL SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
Game 1: Liberty vs James Madison, noon, ESPNU
Game 2: Tennessee vs Eastern Kentucky, 2:30 pm, ESPN+
SATURDAY
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner, noon
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs Game 2 loser, 2:30 pm
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs Game 4 winner, 5 pm
SUNDAY
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs Game 5 winner, noon
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs Game 6 loser (if necessary), 2:30 pm
*photo courtesy ASUN Sports
