Last year in 2023, the softball team Lady Flames of Liberty University went against UCLA’s Bruins and defeated them by one point in the final inning, sending them further into the NCAA regionals.
Liberty lost the game before going against the Bruins but pulled through towards the end. They started out extremely rough, missing pop flys and striking out repeatedly. UCLA scored within the first inning with a home run by Megan Grant, bringing UCLA in the lead.
UCLA also had a rough start, having their starting right fielder in the first inning get injured to the shoulder and head but returned later in the second inning in the batting order. That was not the only injury throughout the game, Alissa Garcia had a pitch thrown at her shoulder but recovered quickly.
Right fielder, Rachel Roupe on team Liberty not only was the first successful hitter to get on first base out of all her teammates, but also hit a home run that went completely out of the ballpark in the fourth inning. This score tied the two teams 1:1.
Even though their success was cut short when UCLA double played Liberty in the fifth inning, they came back stronger in the beginning of the sixth inning and double played UCLA as well.
After this shocking event, pitcher Brooke Yanez of UCLA kept pitching only balls and barely any strikes. This caused the first solid walk in the beginning of the seventh inning by Liberty.
If things could get even more complicated, they did. Caroline Hudso, also player of the year for Liberty, ran through first base and was called safe but was then reviewed in Pittsburg and overturned. This caused a major pause in the game.
This pause did not affect the team, Liberty ended up scoring right after the overturn which turned the score to 2:1 with Liberty in the lead. If UCLA needed to put more effort in, it was already too late. The end of the inning was coming to the end as the camera panned across the nervous team.
To try to take the point away from Liberty, the team reviewed the footage over a small amount of time but was then denied for an overturn.
With anxious minds, UCLA immediately got out within a couple of minutes, causing them to lose the game and eliminate them out of regionals.
Liberty celebrated with happy faces as UCLA members cried in the dugout and on the field. Even though it was a tough game, both teams played the best they could, though there were times where their confidence got ahead of them.
