A regional round of the 2025 NCAA softball tournament that had largely gone according to form just got its first major upset.
In its second game of the tournament, No. 1 national seed Texas A&M was stunned by Liberty 8-5 Saturday in the Bryan-College Station Regional at Davis Diamond, putting one of the pre-tournament favorites on its heels unexpectedly early in the event.
Aggies ace Emiley Kennedy was tagged for 11 hits and eight earned runs, though she managed to strike out eight batters across seven innings. Entering the day, Kennedy, a first-team All-SEC selection, had lost just one game since March 10.
Liberty was carried by senior outfielder KK Madrey, who went 3 for 3 and had three RBIs, including a two-run homer in the sixth inning that stretched her team’s lead to 8-5. Madrey’s home run was the highlight of a decisive five-run inning for Liberty, which turned a two-run deficit into a three-run lead.
Paige Doerr and Alyssa Henault added two RBIs apiece for the Lady Flames, who improved to 49-12 this season and are now one win away from their first super regional appearance in program history.
With the loss, Texas A&M will now try to avoid a shockingly early elimination when it faces off Saturday night against the winner of a Saturday afternoon game between Marist and Saint Francis, the latter of which the Aggies beat 18-0 in five innings on Friday.
Should Texas A&M avoid another upset, it will have to beat Liberty twice on Sunday to advance to the super regional round and keep its national title aspirations alive.
The Aggies came into Saturday with a 46-8 record on the season, earning it the NCAA tournament’s top seed ahead of four-time reigning national champion Oklahoma.
