The Lady Rebels defeated No. 4 Arkansas in a three-game series to advance to the Women’s College Softball World Series. Ole Miss will continue the quest for a championship on Thursday at 6 p.m CST.
Ole Miss began the NCAA Tournament journey in Tucson, Ariz. The Rebels defeated nationally seeded Arizona twice and Grand Canyon, who came into the series on a 23-game win streak, to advance to the super regionals for the third time in program history.
The Rebels advanced thanks to strong performances from senior pitcher Brianna Lopez and two-way player Aliyah Binford, along with explosive and consistent offense.
“Our pitchers have been incredible,” head coach Jamie Trachsel said in an interview with The Daily Mississippian. “We have a ton of confidence in Bri (Lopez).”
Tucson Regional
Opening game vs GCU (won 7-4)
Both teams went scoreless through three innings. In the fourth, GCU climbed to a 3-0 lead following a homer and a two-run double.
Ole Miss responded in the bottom of the fifth with a five spot to take the lead. Ashton Lansdell got it started for the Rebels with a solo homer.
Angelina DeLeon singled and advanced on a sacrifice bunt. Tying run Jaden Pone singled then stole second. Lair Beautae singled to move the runners up a base and put Ole Miss within one.
Pone tied the game on a wild pitch and Addison Duke, who came into pinch run for Beautae, advanced to third after stealing second. Binford singled to score Duke and take the lead.
The Lopes walked Persy Llamas, and Binford moved to second. After that, Lexie Brady roped a double down the left field line. Binford came around to score to make it 5-3, but Llamas was thrown out at third after freezing at first in case the ball was caught.
Ole Miss sent two more batters to the plate and batted around but was unable to extend the lead. The Rebels scored five runs on six hits to take the lead.
The Lopes cut the deficit to one in the sixth with a groundout, but Ole Miss held on to preserve the lead. In the bottom of the inning, Binford got her second and third RBIs of the day to put the Rebels up by three.
Brianna Lopez was pulled after 6.1 innings. Binford came into the game for the final two outs. With a runner on third, a GCU batter hit a line drive to third baseman Lansdell. She dove and caught the ball, then tagged the bag with her foot before the runner could get back. A replay confirmed the double play, and the Rebels won by a final score of 7-4.
Winners bracket vs Arizona (won 10-8)
Both Ole Miss and Arizona won their opening matchups, so they faced off in the winners bracket.
The Rebels got off to a strong start. They scored four runs in the first. Two errors put Rebels on first and third before an out was recorded. Binford singled to score Pone and gave Ole Miss an early lead. Llamas hit a three-run homer to make the score 4-0.
The Wildcats roared back in the bottom half with three runs. Their best hitter, Devyn Netz, hit a three-run home run to get the home team within one.
DeLeon got one back in the next frame for Ole Miss with a homer to make the score 5-3.
In the third, back-to-back doubles by the Wildcats cut the Ole Miss lead to one. A Wildcat runner advanced to third on a passed ball, then scored on a groundout. In the next inning, Arizona stole home and took the lead. The Wildcats extended their lead to 7-5 on a single to center field and a throwing error.
The first two batters went quietly for Ole Miss in the fifth. Then Llamas homered to make it 7-6. After Brady singled and Pickens was hit by a pitch, the Rebels threatened to regain the lead. Taylor Roman pinch hit for Lansdell and hit a three-run home run to put Ole Miss up 9-7.
The next few frames came and went with no change in the score. The Rebels were looking for insurance, and Brady gave them some in the top of the seventh with a home run to make it 10-7.
The Wildcats got one back in the bottom of the inning, but their comeback fell short and the Rebels won 10-8.
Championship game one (lost 10-1)
After losing to Ole Miss, Arizona defeated GCU to advance to the championship game. Ole Miss had a 2-0 record in the tournament, while Arizona was 2-1. Because the tournament was double elimination, Arizona had to defeat Ole Miss twice in order to move on to the super regionals, while Ole Miss only needed to win once.
Arizona came out swinging; the Wildcats put up four runs in the first, three in the second, one in the eight and two in the fourth. Ole Miss’ lone run came from a Binford solo shot.
Miali Guachino did not record an out in the loss. The Rebels were run ruled and had to play Arizona again the same day.
Championship game two (won 7-3)
Game seven of the regional decided who would move on to the super regional. For the third consecutive game between these teams, the visitor scored four runs in the first and went on to win the game.
With one runner on after an Arizona error, Binford homered to put the Rebels up 2-0. Mackenzie Pickens followed this up with a two-run shot to make the score 4-0.
Arizona responded with two runs from a single and a walk, but senior pitcher Lopez was able to wiggle out of what could have been a huge inning for the home team.
In the third, Llamas homered, and Lansdell’s sacrifice fly drove in a run to push the lead to 6-2. The Wildcats homered in the bottom half of the inning, but were still down 6-3. A Binford homer extended the lead to 7-3.
Despite the wide margin of victory, Arizona remained competitive throughout the game. Lopez found herself in trouble numerous times, but managed to stay calm and collected to get the win.
Despite Guachino’s disastrous start earlier in the day, head coach Jamie Trachsel trusted the pitcher in a tough situation that could have ended the season for Ole Miss. The freshman came through and closed out the game to get the Rebels to Fayetteville, Ark., for the super regional.
What cannot be underappreciated is Trachsel’s master class in coaching over the weekend. Her faith in her pitchers, proper execution of pinch hitters and trust in the starting nine was a huge reason why the Rebels prevailed.
Fayetteville Super Regional
Game one (won 9-7)
Binford got the offense going with a solo homer in the first, but Arkansas responded with a three-run homer to take the lead.
Roman pinch hit in the second, and her two-RBI double tied the game. Brady’s RBI double gave the Rebels the lead, and Pickens’s double tacked on another run. Landsell capped off the inning with a two-run homer to make the score 7-3.
Guachino held the Razorbacks to one run in the bottom of the inning.
In the fourth, Brady hit a sacrifice line drive to reestablish the four-run lead. Later in the inning, Landsell walked with the bases loaded to extend the lead to 9-4.
Arkansas kept the score within grasp with another RBI single, but Guachino prevented another big inning and stranded three more runners.
The Hogs continued chipping away at the deficit. A homer in the fifth cut the Rebel lead to three, and a stolen base in the bottom of the seventh made it 9-7. Binford caught a pop fly to end the game to put the Rebels one game away from the World Series.
Game two (lost 4-0)
The Rebel offense was snuffed out in game two. The Hogs scored two runs in the first and two more in the fourth to win the game and even the series. Both teams went into game three looking for their first College Softball World Series appearance.
Game three (won 7-4)
The Rebels came out hot and scored four runs in the first.
Pone walked to open the inning, and Beautae homered to make it 2-0. Binford doubled, then advanced to third on a Brady infield single. Brady stole second, and Binford took home after the Razorback catcher missed the tag at the plate.
Later, Brady stole home as the catcher was giving the ball back to the pitcher.
In the bottom of the inning, Rebel pitcher Brianna Lopez walked a batter with the bases loaded to make the score 4-1. In the next frame, Arkansas singled to score two runners and notched an infield hit to tie the score at four.
Ole Miss took the lead in the fourth after a sacrifice fly from Pone. In the fifth, the Rebels extended their lead following a Pickens single. Brady’s solo homer in the seventh pushed the score to 7-4.
Binford’s stellar pitching helped close out the game, and Ole Miss advanced to the World Series for the first time in program history.
Who’s next?
This is Trachsel’s second appearance as a head coach in the Women’s College World Series. Her first was with Minnesota in 2019.
“It’s pretty special to be part of the first,” Trachsel said. “We came straight up here (Oklahoma City, site of the Softball World Series) from Arkansas just to get settled in and kind of rest from an exciting and emotional weekend.”
The Rebels will take on No. 12 Texas Tech Thursday at 6 p.m. CST.
“They have an elite pitcher, one of the top pitchers in the country,” Trachsel said. “They’re an aggressive base-running team. They try to steal bases. They get extra bases. … We have to pitch really well, limit free passes, clean on defense and have some timely hitting. Expect it to be kind of a dog fight, and just win that one inning or maybe two innings and that could be the difference of the game.”
ESPN2 will have coverage of the game. Click here for the full Women’s College World Series schedule.
