The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
38-17
Grand Canyon
46-7
Big 5th Inning Propels No. 17 Softball to NCAA Regional Win Over No. 23 Grand Canyon
5/16/2025 | Softball
TUCSON, Ariz. – The No. 17 Ole Miss softball team exploded for five runs in the fifth inning to rally and defeat No. 23 Grand Canyon, 7-4, and advance to the winner's bracket in the NCAA Tucson Regional.
Aliyah Binford went 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Ashton Lansdell launched a home run and delivered stellar defense to power the Rebels (38-17, 11-13 SEC) past Grand Canyon (46-7, 21-2 WAC) to victory.
The Rebels earned their first NCAA Tournament win since 2023 and improve to 7-2 all-time in NCAA Regional opening games.
The Rebels were held scoreless though the first four frames as the Lopes mounted a 3-0 lead, looking to extend the nation's longest-active win streak at 23 games. However, Lansdell sparked the comeback with a leadoff homer in the fifth.
Following some timely hitting from Angelina DeLeon and Jaden Pone, Lair Beautae delivered an RBI single to make it 3-2. After a steal by Addison Duke, the Rebels used strong baserunning to pounce on a wild pitch and tie the game at 3-3.
Binford was next to the plate and delivered the go-ahead hit, placing a single through the left side for a 4-3 advantage. Lexie Brady took over from there, driving in Binford with an RBI double off the right field wall to make it 5-3.
GCU threatened with two on and nobody out in the sixth and cut one from the Rebel lead, but Brianna Lopez limited the damage with an inning-ending strikeout. Lopez finished the day after going 6.1 innings, allowing just three earned runs and striking out three to secure her fourth consecutive 100-strikeout season.
Nevertheless, Binford got it right back and more with a two-RBI single in the bottom half of the frame. Binford was set up by hits from DeLeon and Taylor Malvin, who each tallied two-hit days.
The Lopes had one last chance with a runner on third and one away in the seventh. Lansdell stepped up to deliver her second, game-changing play, as she made a spectacular diving catch and touched third upon landing for a game-ending double play.
The Rebels will take on host and national No. 13 seed Arizona on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN.
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For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at @olemisssoftball. Also, follow head coach Jamie Trachsel on Twitter at @Jamie_Trachsel.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lopez, Brianna (12-4)
L: Vickers, O. (5-1)
S: Binford, Aliyah (3)
Batting:
2B: Kirk, S. 1 ; Weckel, M. 1
HR: Gonzalez, E. 1
RBI: Weckel, M. 2 ; Gonzalez, E. 1 ; Lucas, T. 1
SH: Ford, W. 1 ; Nolan, M. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gonzalez, E. 1 ; Wolsky, H. 1 ; Williams, B. 1 ; McCray, S. 1
Batting:
2B: Binford, Aliyah 1 ; Brady, Lexie 1
HR: Lansdell, Ashton 1
RBI: Beautae, Lair 1 ; Binford, Aliyah 3 ; Brady, Lexie 1 ; Lansdell, Ashton 1
SH: Pone, Jaden 1 ; Malvin, Taylor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pone, Jaden 1 ; Beautae, Lair 1 ; Duke, Addison 1 ; Binford, Aliyah 1 ; Lansdell, Ashton 1 ; DeLeon, Angelina 1 ; Malvin, Taylor 1
SB: Pone, Jaden 1 ; Duke, Addison 1
HBP: Brady, Lexie 2 ; Pickens, Mackenzie 1
