For the first time in program history, the Ole Miss Rebels are heading to the Mecca of college softball. The Rebels defeated Arkansas 7-4 on Sunday in the winner-take-all finale of a best of three Super Regional to punch their tickets to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.
Ole Miss will face Texas Tech Thursday at 6 p.m. CT in its opening game from OKC. The game will be televised on either ESPN or ESPN2. This is the Ole Miss program's first ever trip to the WCWS.
Sunday's hero was sixth-year transfer Aliyah Binford, who last year came up one game shy of taking her Baylor team to the WCWS.
Binford would not fail Sunday. Entering in relief of starting pitcher Brianna Lopez with one out in the second inning and the Rebels clinging to a precious 4-1 early lead, Binford shut the Hogs down. At one point heading into the bottom of the seventh, she had retired 14 straight Razorback hitters. Her final pitching line read two hits, two walks and one run allowed over the final 5.2 innings of the game.
BOX SCORE | Ole Miss 7, Arkansas 4
That wasn't her only heroics. She stole home as part of a four-run top of the first and tipped a double at the plate.
"It feels amazing," Binford said as the Rebels celebrated their berth to OKC. "All year people have been giving excuses for Ole Miss anytime we won. And all I've got to say is why not the Rebels. Why couldn't we do this? And you know what? We came out and we showed them and we did it, and here we are heading to the Women's College World Series."
Ole Miss is the only team to advance to the WCWS that was not nationally-seeded.
Sunday's hero Aliyah Binford steals home in the top of the first. (Photo: OMA)
Binford talked about her gutsy pitching performance in the biggest game of her life.
"I just knew my teammates were going to stick up for me in the box," she said. "...I pitch for them. I knew they would have my back in everything I did. I trust them with my whole heart, so I just knew I just had to go out there and just pitch."
Binford stuck to the them of Ole Miss relishing the underdog role.
"Because we know that everybody is doubting us. So, we come out and we have fun and we play freely. We control what we can, and submit to what we can't. This team is just amazing and we're doing some5thing that not many teams get to do."
Full game coverage coming...