The Shadow
NEWARK, Del. – 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 – 3rd INNING – McManus homers to center, Fox scores, 2-0
Liberty – 3rd INNING – Jessee homers to center, 3-0
Liberty – 4th INNING – Lee steals home, Fox out, 4-0
Jax State – 4th INNING – Rasmussen walks, Underwood and Phillips advance, Kyser scores, 4-1
Jax State – 4th INNING – Elrod walks, Cushingberry and Underwood advance, Phillips scores, 4-2
Jax State – 4th INNING – Nowakowski walks, Elrod and Cushingberry advance, Underwood scores, 4-3
Jax State – 4th INNING – Reed sacrifice fly, Cushingberry scores, 4-4
Jax State – 6th INNING – Reed doubles to center, Elrod scores, 5-4
Jax State – 6th INNING – 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.
