frankie00 said:

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The following part of the recent interview with Coach Ford gives me a lot of hope for the next few weeks:

"Sidne Peters threw live this week. Our girls were not excited to see her 2,200 rpm, but her speed and velo looked really good. I'm excited, and if we can use her this weekend, we will."

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Some Liberty softball players explained today the surprised look during Sunday's 'shortest watch party in history,' when it found out it was headed to top-seeded Texas A&M's regional.

"For them to put us against number one, I'm like, 'Of course.'"https://t.co/wX2Mw9n4bU

— Bryson Gordon (@BrysonGordon) May 13, 2025

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There was visible shock in the room where Liberty softball watched and learned its fate Sunday for this week's region assignment for the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament.

Head coach Dot Richardson called it the "shortest watch party in history."

Outfielder K.K. Madrey sat front and center, and her expression said it all. "Very surprised," she said. "Probably saw it on my face when my mouth was just wide open. That's probably why I shouldn't sit in front. But yeah, it was very surprising."

"and a team Coach Richardson has put atop her coaches' poll ballot "almost every week" this year."

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Between winning Saturday's Conference USA Tournament championship and Sunday's selection show, the hours were filled with bracketology predictions for Liberty. Many players thought for certain they were going to a region with No. 8 South Carolina in Columbia. A few others said it might be No. 11 Clemson's regional.

"I'm like, 'These are all legitimate opportunities,'" Richardson recalled. "And so we all knew we were not going to Texas A&M. It just came up there [on the screen] with two other teams, and all of the sudden they're like, 'Conference USA champions, Liberty,' ... And I was like, 'You guys, that's us.'"

The veteran Liberty softball team, with years of seasoning in regionals and several wins this season over tournament teams, thought the seeding to be disrespectful.

"It doesn't surprise me," said senior right fielder Rachel Roupe, who is headed to a fourth regional appearance. "We've been here four years and just ... the respect level there for our team isn't always there, and so for them to put us against number one, I'm like, 'Of course.' But we're excited."

"It honestly makes you wonder: If we were an at-large, would we have been put in a better situation?" she later asked.

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"Virginia is at the location we thought we were going to be," Richardson said, "and Virginia Tech [14th in RPI] being on the road is a question, too, as to why that happened. But the committee is the committee."

"I think that can seem really scary, especially to people that have never been ... but I think once coach talked to us, we all felt better," pitcher Elena Escobar said about playing the No. 1 overall seed.

"Last year, when we went to Oklahoma, there were thousands of screaming fans that were so loud we couldn't even hear each other talking on the field. And I think College Station is going to be a lot similar to that environment," Escobar said. "And for the new girls, playing Alabama [this year] was also a really loud, exciting and fast-pace experience."

"It was definitely a shock at first. But at the same time, we have to beat [Texas A&M] eventually," she said. "So we're ready to go."

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