WATCH: Ole Miss softball has been in playoff mode for weeks now
Ole Miss will be making its eighth straight appearance in the NCAA Softball Championship when the Rebels face off against Baylor in the Lafayette Regional on Friday.
The three-seed Rebels are 17-15 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. They claimed regional titles in 2017 and 2019. The two-seed Bears, meanwhile, are back in the postseason for the 11th time in the last 13 seasons.
“Excited to be here,” Ole Miss head coach Jamie Trachsel said Thursday. “It’s been a challenging season. I’m really proud of our players — led by our seniors and super seniors, especially this last month (and) two weeks in particular.
“I love how we’re playing. We’re playing our best when that matters the most. Excited for a great tournament. Losing, it’s not easy, and we’ve been so close.”
Ole Miss has won five of its last seven games, including back-to-back series wins over Auburn and No. 8 Auburn. The Rebels also impressed with a 5-2, opening-round win over No. 25 Kentucky in the SEC Tournament.
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“We play best when we’re loose as a team,” senior Paige Smith said. Smith has started 259 games in a Rebel uniform, the most by any player in Ole Miss history. “We’re a big energy team. We ride on energy and confidence.
“That’s what we’re going to ride on.”
REBEL ROUNDABOUT: Ole Miss softball receives bid to NCAA Lafayette Regional
Host Louisiana gets four-seed Princeton in the opening round.
The Rebels and Ragin’ Cajuns have met 18 times in history. Louisiana holds a 14-4 edge, though Ole Miss came out on top in the 2019 Oxford Regional.
The Rebels are 31-25 overall. First pitch Friday has been moved up to 2:30 p.m. CT due to rain in the forecast.
“We’re playing our best when it matters,” Smith said. “There was no elephant in the room this whole season. We knew what it was, and we knew what we had to do.
“We’ve been in playoff mode for four or five weeks now.”
