Ole Miss, Mississippi State still hopeful for NCAA softball tournament bids
May 10—Ole Miss senior Paige Smith's two-run home run in the 10th inning was enough to help the Rebels advance past LSU with a 5-3 win in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The 11th-seeded Rebels (30-25, 8-16 SEC) will now face third-seeded Auburn in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Ole Miss dropped two of three games when the two teams previously squared off earlier in the season.
Not only did Ole Miss keep its SEC Tournament hopes alive with Wednesday's victory in extra innings, it added another quality win in the process. LSU was the sixth seed in the SEC, and the Tigers were ranked sixth in RPI through Tuesday's games.
The Rebels were ranked 34th in RPI entering Wednesday's game. Ole Miss will have another chance for a win over an opponent in the top 25 in RPI on Thursday against Auburn (21st).
Ole Miss has made every NCAA Tournament since 2016.
Mississippi State's tournament hopes, meanwhile, took a hit on Tuesday with a loss to Missouri. The Bulldogs (28-25, 7-16) were 49th in RPI after Tuesday's games.
Heartland College Sports and College Sports Madness both had Ole Miss qualifying for the tournament in their projections. Heartland College Sports listed Mississippi State in its First Four Out.
Ole Miss and Mississippi State will learn their postseason fates when the bracket is unveiled on Sunday.
Brendan Farrell is a preps and college sports reporter for the Daily Journal. You can reach him at brendan.farrell@journalinc.com.
