Softball On SI

No. 16 Ole Miss Softball Shocks No. 1 Tennessee in Historic Upset

No. 16 Ole Miss softball stuns top-ranked Tennessee with a historic upset victory, marking one of the biggest wins in program history.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Ole Miss softball pitcher Miali Guachino delivers a pitch during the Rebels' 3-2 win over No. 1 Tennessee on April 25, 2025.
Ole Miss softball pitcher Miali Guachino delivers a pitch during the Rebels' 3-2 win over No. 1 Tennessee on April 25, 2025. | Ole Miss Athletics

Last time the Ole Miss Rebels upset a No. 1 team, magic happened.

That moment was during the 2017 SEC Tournament when the unranked Rebels took down No. 1 Florida en route to their first SEC Tournament title in Knoxville.

This time around, No. 19 Ole Miss took down the No. 1 Lady Vols 3-2 on Friday night at the Ole Miss Softball Stadium.

Freshman Miali Guachino was dominant in the circle for the Rebels, pitching 5.2 innings and allowing just two runs on four hits. Brianna Lopez earned the save, striking out three over a scoreless 1.1 innings.

The Rebels jumped on the board early, scoring three runs off Tennessee ace Karlyn Pickens in the bottom of the second inning.

Mackenzie Pickens drove in the game's first run with a high chopper over the Tennessee third baseman Taylor Pannell's head after Persy Llamas was hit by a pitch and Lexie Brady walked.

A squeeze bunt by Angelina DeLeon scored another run, and an RBI groundout from Taylor Malvin extended the lead to 3-0 and knocked Karlyn Pickens out of the game after just two innings.

The Lady Vols got two runs back in the top of the sixth.

A bunt single by Saviya Morgan got the Lady Vols going. Kinsey Fiedler followed with a triple, driving in Morgan, and Panell scored Fiedler with a sacrifice fly to left field.

Karlyn Pickens fell to 18-6 on the season while freshman Erin Nuwer tossed four shutout innings in relief while allowing just one hit. She struck out five and walked two.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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