- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,144,180
- Reaction score
- 59
OXFORD — The way Ole Miss softball coach Jamie Trachsel describes her team's SEC schedule is reflected in the Rebels' record.
"The SEC is just a dogfight," Trachsel said.
Ole Miss (31-24, 6-18) won the last scrap. The Rebels beat No. 18 Mississippi State 3-0 on a walk-off three-run homer from Rachel Connors in the seventh inning May 2 at Alisa and Mark Bourne Stadium.
The regular-season finale gave them the 2-1 series win over MSU (37-17, 9-15), their first home conference series win this season. But the 8-16 record in SEC play is a little misleading.
The Rebels' aren't elite, but they aren't your average team 8-16 team. Although they are only the No. 13 seed in the SEC Tournament and will face No. 12 South Carolina on May 5, the strength of their schedule has them in good shape ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
Ole Miss has played three-game series against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Alabama, No. 5 Texas, No. 9 Tennessee, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 16 Mississippi State and No. 19 LSU. Auburn is the only unranked SEC team the Rebels have played.
Getting six wins against that lineup, highlighted by two on the road against the Lady Vols, has pushed Ole Miss to No. 23 in the RPI entering May 2. After picking up two ranked wins against MSU, the Rebels likely are going to earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Ole Miss lost by two runs or fewer twice to Alabama, once to Texas, once to Tennessee, twice to Texas A&M, twice to LSU and once to MSU.
"Even though we had a really tough schedule, I think we took some people by surprise," Connors said May 2. "Even with our losses, with how well we competed. When we've needed it most, we've won."
Senior pitcher Emilee Boyer is getting her first taste of SEC play. She transferred in after three seasons at Division II West Texas A&M, where she was the Division II National Player of the Year in 2025. She pitched all seven innings in the shutout of MSU on May 2.
"It's been a tough year and we just keep going," Boyer said. "Keep it in the past and go one game at a time and one pitch at a time."
Trachsel said the gauntlet of SEC play has helped battle-test her team. The rewards have started to show the past couple of weeks. Ole Miss won consecutive SEC series against Auburn and MSU after losing its four of its first five matchups.
The Rebels have a new-look roster from the 2025 team that finished 11-13 in the SEC and made a run to the Women's College World Series. Ole Miss graduated 11 players from that team, including the pitching staff.
"The big thing we wanted to focus on is letting this team find their own identity," Trachsel said. "Not try to think back to what last year's team did. What I'm proud of is the mentality, resiliency."
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why Ole Miss softball might be NCAA Tournament threat despite 6-18 SEC record
Continue reading...
"The SEC is just a dogfight," Trachsel said.
Ole Miss (31-24, 6-18) won the last scrap. The Rebels beat No. 18 Mississippi State 3-0 on a walk-off three-run homer from Rachel Connors in the seventh inning May 2 at Alisa and Mark Bourne Stadium.
The regular-season finale gave them the 2-1 series win over MSU (37-17, 9-15), their first home conference series win this season. But the 8-16 record in SEC play is a little misleading.
The Rebels' aren't elite, but they aren't your average team 8-16 team. Although they are only the No. 13 seed in the SEC Tournament and will face No. 12 South Carolina on May 5, the strength of their schedule has them in good shape ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
Ole Miss has played three-game series against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Alabama, No. 5 Texas, No. 9 Tennessee, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 16 Mississippi State and No. 19 LSU. Auburn is the only unranked SEC team the Rebels have played.
Getting six wins against that lineup, highlighted by two on the road against the Lady Vols, has pushed Ole Miss to No. 23 in the RPI entering May 2. After picking up two ranked wins against MSU, the Rebels likely are going to earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Ole Miss lost by two runs or fewer twice to Alabama, once to Texas, once to Tennessee, twice to Texas A&M, twice to LSU and once to MSU.
"Even though we had a really tough schedule, I think we took some people by surprise," Connors said May 2. "Even with our losses, with how well we competed. When we've needed it most, we've won."
Senior pitcher Emilee Boyer is getting her first taste of SEC play. She transferred in after three seasons at Division II West Texas A&M, where she was the Division II National Player of the Year in 2025. She pitched all seven innings in the shutout of MSU on May 2.
"It's been a tough year and we just keep going," Boyer said. "Keep it in the past and go one game at a time and one pitch at a time."
Trachsel said the gauntlet of SEC play has helped battle-test her team. The rewards have started to show the past couple of weeks. Ole Miss won consecutive SEC series against Auburn and MSU after losing its four of its first five matchups.
The Rebels have a new-look roster from the 2025 team that finished 11-13 in the SEC and made a run to the Women's College World Series. Ole Miss graduated 11 players from that team, including the pitching staff.
"The big thing we wanted to focus on is letting this team find their own identity," Trachsel said. "Not try to think back to what last year's team did. What I'm proud of is the mentality, resiliency."
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why Ole Miss softball might be NCAA Tournament threat despite 6-18 SEC record
Continue reading...
