Ole Miss downs shorthanded Arkansas 9-7 in NCAA Tournament Super Regional Opener

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – If the Arkansas softball program is going to advance to its first Women’s College World Series next week, it’s going to have to do it the hard way.

Ole Miss jumped on Arkansas early and downed the Razorbacks 9-7 Friday in the opening game of the NCAA Softball Tournament Fayetteville Regional.

The Razorbacks (43-13) rallied from a five-run deficit and it looked as if Kailey Wyckoff might have launched a game-winning three-run homer in the seventh, but it came up just short.

“What a game,” Arkansas head coach Courtney Deifel said. “Obviously at the end, when it doesn’t go your way you are just kind of reflecting on what you can do better and what adjustments we are going to make.

“But the thing that I will say more than anything is I am just so incredibly proud of this team and their fight. They battled and battled to the end and like everyone in the stadium, I thought it was going to get done.

“But it didn’t get done today and we haven’t done anything the easy way all year so I looking forward to our response. It was a good fight.”

The two teams are scheduled to play Saturday night at 8 p.m. with Arkansas needing to win to force a game three on Sunday in the best 2-of-3 format.

Unseeded Ole Miss, which won the Arizona Regional last weekend, needs just one more win to advance its first ever WCWS.

Friday’s game was originally schedule for 7 p.m., but moved up to 11 a.m. because of expected inclement weather.

“Proud of the fight we had all day,” Ole Miss head coach Jamie Trachsel said.. “Obviously with the game time getting moved up eight hours, that does change things. Proud of how they handled that and kind of pivoted. We were ready to go.”

Arkansas was limited with its pitching options as both starter Robyn Herron and freshman Payton Burnham were both dealing with either food poisoning or a bug per Deifel.

“It’s how I started my morning,” Deifel said. “Andrew (Kreis), our athletic trainer, was in contact with them all night and it is kind of bizarre because they didn’t eat together, didn’t hang together. I don’t know if it is a bug or food poisoning. They can’t keep anything in.

“So it is just how our day started. They obviously need to rest. Rob gave us what she had, but they can’t keep anything in their system.

“…We’ll see. I like the fight of this team today. When you show up and those are the cards you are dealt, this team, just leaned into it and fought down to the last swing and we had a chance.

“So I thing we are going to build off today. I am rally proud off this team and we will get ready for tomorrow.”

Herron was able to last just two innings and was followed in by Reis Beuerlein (3-2) and freshmen Lexi King and Cam Harrison.

Harrison did not allow a run and only one hit in four innings despite not having pitched since May 2.

“She was outstanding,” Deifel said. “…She and Karlie have just been ready for that moment and she’s been working. It’s tough when at the end that you just have to be ready when your name is called and she was ready today.

“She fought her tail off today, kept us in the game and gave us a chance. I was incredibly proud of her.”

Ole Miss outhit Arkansas 9-8 while the Razorbacks left 13 runners on base.

“I just feel like we were one hit away and had some really great at bats,” Deifel said. “We will take today and the information we have and figure out how to be better tomorrow.”

Ole Miss’ Aliyah Binford hit a solo homer in the first to put Ole Miss up, but Wyckoff hit a three-run homer to put Arkansas ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the first.

Ole Miss pinch hitter Taylor Roman tied it 3-3 with a two-run, two-out double off Herron in the top of the second.

The Rebels then exploded for four two-out runs to go up 7-3 in the third on RBI doubles from xxxx Brady and xxx Pickens and two-run homer by xxx Lansdell.

Arkansas’ hot-hitting Atalyio Rijo delivered an RBI single – her 10th postseason hit in three games – in the third to cut its deficit to 7-4.

But Lexie Brady’s sacrifice fly and Ashton Lansdell’s bases-loaded walk in the fifth put Ole Miss up 9-4.

Arkansas cut it to 9-6 on Courtney Day’s RBI single in the fourth and Karlie Davison’ solo homer in the fifth.

“It felt like we were just one swing away from turning the game around at all times,” Davison said. “And so we felt like we were in it the whole time, even if the score didn’t necessarily reflect it at all times. We felt like it was just a matter of time before we would be ahead.”

The Razorbacks gave themselves a chance in the seventh when Davison walked and Reagan Johnson reached via a fielder’s choice to lead off.


But Binford fanned Raigan Kramer and Bri Ellis, walked Day and then watched as Wyckoff’s blast came up just short.

Trachsel admits her heart skipped a beat.

“I was like, ‘Oh gosh. Stay in here, stay in here,’” Trachsel said.

Ole Miss is one of four unseeded team lost ion the field along with Georgia, Liberty and Nebraska.

“I’m proud of our fight, but we didn’t come here to win one game,” Trachsel said. “We came here to win the series…Kind of a word with it we’ve adopted the last few weeks is just ‘surrender.’

“It’s a different word, but just surrender to all the things you can’t control — expectations and what people think, or what their rankings are or where you’re playing. Everything that we can’t control, surrender to that, and it frees you up to just be able to try to go play your best when it matters the most.”

Photo by John D. James