Game of margins: Hogs come up feet short of dramatic walk off

Wyckoff comes up just short of improbable comeback for Arkansas in NCAA Super Regional

Courtney Deifel during the first game of the Super Regionals between Ole Miss and Arkansas. The Rebels won 9-7 | Nilsen Roman - Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas right fielder Kailey Wyckoff hit the ball to deep right field with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and the Hogs down 9-7. With two runners on base, she represented the winning run. The ball kept carrying until the ball fell in right fielder Taylor Malvin's glove on the warning track to end the game.

Ole Miss coach Jamie Trachsel's heart skipped a beat as the ball left the bat.

THE REBELS TAKE GAME 1 🔥 @OleMissSoftball gets its FIRST Super Regional win in program history 👏 pic.twitter.com/qBMehmQnzw

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) May 23, 2025

"I was like 'oh gosh stay in here'," Trachsel said. "It looked like it held a little bit and came down. Off the bat, I was like 'oof' and then it stayed in."

It was the first win in the Super Regional round for Ole Miss in program history

It followed a similar pattern for Arkansas. The Razorbacks couldn't get the big hit all day. They stranded 13 runners on base in just seven innings. Ole Miss' Miali Guachino stranded eight in less than three innings, including the bases loaded in back-to-back innings.

The Hogs went just 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

"I'm not used to hitting balls like that," Wyckoff said, who came into the game with just six homers. "I run them out anyway. That's not immediately what I thought off the bat [was home run]."

Arkansas was already dealt a tough hand before the start of the game. Both the top pitchers, Robyn Herron and Peyton Burnham were ill. Herron pitched just two innings and threw just 47 pitches.

The Hogs got three scoreless innings from Cam Harrison to give the Hogs a chance to fight back.

"If you didn't think we had a chance to win then shame on you," coach Courtney Deifel said. "You haven't watched us close enough. We were one hit away. We had some really good at-bats. We just have to take today, with all the information that we have and figure out how to be better tomorrow."

Ole Miss pushed all the right buttons to take advantage of its opportunities, leaving just five runners on. They pinch hit for the No. 9 hitter with the tying run on base in the second, despite it only being the first time through the lineup. Taylor Roman came through with a game-tying double.

"Try to capitalize immediately on opportunities, " Trachsel said. "What allows us to do that is the depth of our players."

The Hogs' entire season is now in flux. They now face an elimination game with the status of the top two pitchers and first baseman Bri Ellis, who is a National Player of the Year finalist still looking for her first. She got on base two more times today via the walk and a hit by pitch, but struck out in the seventh and is now 0-for-10 across the regional and Super Regional rounds.

Arkansas and Ole Miss will play game two of a best of three 8 p.m. Saturday. The game could be moved once again due to inclement weather. A TV network has not been announced.