NEWARK, De. (WDBJ) – In a rematch of last year’s title game, No. 1 seed Jacksonville State scored seven unanswered runs to come back for a 7-4 victory over third-seeded Liberty in the winner-take-all final of the 2026 Conference USA Softball Championship, Saturday at Delaware Softball Diamond. The Gamecocks (45-14) earn their first CUSA tournament championship and will represent CUSA at the 2026 NCAA Division I Softball Championship. Two-time defending CUSA champion Liberty, this year’s No. 3 seed, sees its season end with a 29-28 record. The Lady Flames opened the 2026 CUSA Softball Championship with three straight wins, including a 7-2 victory over Jax State is yesterday’s semifinal round. With Saturday’s final being winner-take-all, both Liberty and Jax State went 3-1 this weekend. Liberty defeated the Gamecocks 8-0 in five innings in the 2025 CUSA Softball Championship final. Liberty’s Savannah Jessee, Savanah Whatley, Brynn McManus and Camden Anders were all named to the CUSA Softball All-Tournament Team.
Jacksonville State 7, Liberty 4
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 3rdINNING – McManus homers to center, Fox scores, 2-0Liberty – 3rdINNING – Jessee homers to center, 3-0Liberty – 4thINNING – Lee steals home, Fox out, 4-0Jax State – 4thINNING – Rasmussen walks, Underwood and Phillips advance, Kyser scores, 4-1Jax State – 4thINNING – Elrod walks, Cushingberry and Underwood advance, Phillips scores, 4-2Jax State – 4thINNING – Nowakowski walks, Elrod and Cushingberry advance, Underwood scores, 4-3Jax State – 4thINNING – Reed sacrifice fly, Cushingberry scores, 4-4Jax State – 6thINNING – Reed doubles to center, Elrod scores, 5-4Jax State – 6thINNING – Martin homer to center, Reed scores, 7-4
Turning Point
Liberty built a 4-0 lead, getting back-to-back homers from Brynn McManus and Savannah Jessee in the third and then scoring on a double steal play in the fourth.Jax State tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases with nobody out on two walks and a single. Camden Anders walked in a run, leading Abigail Findlay to come on in relief. After Findlay walked in two runs, Anders reentered and gave up a game-tying sacrifice fly before getting out of the jam.Liberty nearly regained the lead in both the fifth and sixth innings, leaving two runners on base to end both frames.An error opened the door for the Gamecocks in the bottom of the sixth. Amber Reed (RBI double) and Kailey Martin (two-run homer) both came through with two-out RBI to give Jax State the 7-4 lead.
Notable Numbers
Liberty outhit Jax State 7-5 for the game, with the Lady Flames committing one error. Both teams left seven runners on base.Mackinley Portillo (9-6) earned the win, allowing one run on two hits, walking five and striking out two in 4 2/3 innings of relief after starter Makenna Moore lasted 2 1/3 innings.Camden Anders (15-9) drew the loss, allowing seven runs (four earned) on five hits, walking five and fanning five in seven innings.Morgan Nowakowski batted 2-for-3, while Amber Reed went 1-for-2 with a double, two RBI and one run. Kailey Martin batted 1-for-3 with a homer, two RBI and one run.Brynn McManus batted 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBI and one run scored, while Savannah Jessee (1-for-4) hit her 10th homer of the season. Dani Lee and Ella Fox both doubled for Liberty.
Beyond the Box Score
Liberty leads Jax State 10-5 all-time in softball, including 2-2 in CUSA Softball Championship play. Jacksonville State defeated Liberty 7-2 in the semifinal of the 2025 CUSA Softball Championship, before Liberty run-ruled the Gamecocks in the title game.Liberty was making its third straight appearance in the CUSA Softball Championship title game.Savannah Jessee posted eight RBI the 2026 CUSA Softball Championship. The record for RBI in a complete CUSA Tournament is nine, by WKU’s Sophie Weber in 2024.Alexia Carrasquillo (12), Brynn McManus (11) and Savannah Jessee (10) all hit 10 or more home runs this season. The last time Liberty had three players with double-digit homers in the same year was 2023, when Rachel Roupe and Caroline Hudson both hit 15 home runs and Megan Fortner recorded 10. This is the fifth year in a row in which multiple Lady Flames hit 10 or more home runs.Liberty is 7-6 all-time in conference tournament finals, and 5-2 under Dot Richardson.The Lady Flames’ NCAA Regional run ends at five seasons. This is the first full season since 2019 in which Liberty has not qualified for the NCAA Division I Softball Championship.McManus finishes her career ranked No. 13 in program history with 118 career RBI.
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