The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
42-20
Arkansas
44-14
No. 17 Softball Tops No. 4 Arkansas, Punches Ticket to Women’s College World Series
5/25/2025 | Softball
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 17 Ole Miss softball team made history, booking the program’s first ever spot in the Women’s College World Series and taking down No. 4 Arkansas, 7-4, on Sunday night at Bogle Park.
The Rebels (42-19, 11-13 SEC) saw an offensive resurgence on the heels of game two, recording multiple home runs from Lair Beautae and Lexie Brady. Aliyah Binford tallied a dominant pitching performance in relief, going 5.2 innings and allowing just two hits and one earned run, while striking out four Razorbacks (44-14, 14-10 SEC).
The day opened with a bang, as Jaden Pone worked a full count walk before setting up Beautae. The veteran drove the first pitch she saw to the opposite field and over the wall for a 2-0 advantage.
The Rebels weren’t done though, as Aliyah Binford doubled and Lexie Brady singled to put runners on the corners. The Rebel coaching staff dialed up some aggressive base running, executing a double steal to score Binford and make it 3-0. Brady advanced all the way to third on the play and promptly stole home on the next play, making it 4-0.
Arkansas fought back with one in the first, then three in the second to tie it back at four. Binford relieved Brianna Lopez and settled in on the hill, retiring the Razorbacks in order in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth to allow the offense to rebuild its lead.
Mackenzie Pickens led off the fourth with an infield single and scored on a Pone sacrifice fly to put Ole Miss back on top, 5-4. Persy Llamas sparked the offense in the fifth with a one-out single, and Pickens sent pinch runner Ryan Starr home to make it a two-run lead. Angelina DeLeon nearly drove in two more, but was robbed on a diving play by Arkansas second baseman Karlie Davison to end the inning.
With time running out for both sides, Brady punctuated the Rebel victory with a solo home run to make it a 7-4 advantage.
Binford retired her 14th straight batter to open the seventh inning before issuing a walk to Bri Ellis. Nevertheless, she fought back and ended it with back-to-back strikeouts, sending Ole Miss to Oklahoma City for the first time.
The Rebels will take on No. 12 seeded Texas Tech to open the Women’s College World Series on Thursday, May 29, at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
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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: Binford, Aliyah (11-3)
L: Robyn Herron (18-7)
Batting:
2B: Binford, Aliyah 1
HR: Beautae, Lair 1 ; Brady, Lexie 1
RBI: Pone, Jaden 1 ; Beautae, Lair 2 ; Brady, Lexie 1 ; Pickens, Mackenzie 1
SF: Pone, Jaden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pone, Jaden 1 ; Beautae, Lair 1 ; Binford, Aliyah 1 ; Starr, Ryan 1 ; Brady, Lexie 2 ; Pickens, Mackenzie 1
SB: Binford, Aliyah 1 ; Brady, Lexie 2
Batting:
RBI: Courtney Day 2 ; Kailey Wyckoff 1 ; Ella McDowell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Reagan Johnson 1 ; Raigan Kramer 1 ; Bri Ellis 1 ; Kennedy Miller 1
