Ole Miss survived a late scare and beat Boston University 8-6 on Friday in the first game of the Lubbock Regional, a win that set the stage for Texas Tech softball to begin its own regional run later in the day. The Rebels led 8-3 entering the seventh inning, then had to finish off a Boston University team that reached second and third with one out before a misread on the bases ended the game with a double play at Tracy Sellers Field.
The game began at 1:30 p.m. ET with Kyra Aycock in the circle for Ole Miss and Kasey Ricard starting for Boston University. Aycock was announced as the starter at 12:45 p.m., but the opening frame quickly tilted against her. She walked the bases loaded with one out and was lifted at 1:17 p.m. for Lilly Whitten, and Boston University responded at 1:23 p.m. with two runs to grab a 2-0 lead. Ole Miss cut the deficit to 2-1 after one inning, but the Rebels needed more than small-ball pressure to take control.
They found it in the long ball. Mackenzie Pickens hit a solo home run and Madi George followed with a two-run shot at 2:15 p.m., giving Ole Miss a 4-2 lead. Then came the inning that changed the day. Ole Miss scored seven runs in the bottom of the third, pushing the margin to 8-2 by 2:34 p.m. and building the kind of cushion that usually survives in regional play. The Rebels were still ahead 8-2 through four innings at 2:53 p.m., and entered the seventh with a six-run lead, though Boston University kept pressing until the final out.
That pressure mattered because the regional is part of the 2026 NCAA softball tournament, and Texas Tech entered the bracket as the top seed. The Red Raiders were scheduled to follow Ole Miss and Boston University against Marist, with Kaitlyn Terry set to start in the circle for Texas Tech at 4:12 p.m. Marist struck first at 4:28 p.m. on an RBI single from Sienna Kunze. The Ole Miss game aired on ESPNU, Texas Tech’s game against Marist was set for +, and all games in the Lubbock Regional were available through Unlimited with a subscription.
Ole Miss had to work for the win, but the message from the day was plain: in Lubbock, nothing comes easy, not even when a team leads by six going into the seventh. Boston University’s late rally was enough to raise the pulse, not enough to change the result, and Texas Tech was next to learn what that looks like on its own field.
