Ole Miss softball ready for whatever happens during Lubbock Regional

Two teams who made their Women's College World Series debuts against one another a year ago may be on opposite sides of the opening bracket for the Lubbock Regional this weekend, but Ole Miss head coach Jamie Trachsel knows exactly what is in store if the Rebels meet up with Texas Tech.

"They're supposed to win, right? Like they're supposed to win the national championship, I think," Trachsel said. "For us, we get to play loose and free. We'll surrender to any outcome, have inner peace with the results and free ourselves to play our best when it matters."

Trachsel is right that Texas Tech isn't just supposed to be making another trip to Oklahoma City. The Red Raiders are also expected to be one of the final teams standing when the calendar flips to June.

Ole Miss has played the underdog role plenty, including last year's run that saw the Rebels pull off upsets in the Tucson Regional and beating Arkansas on its home turf to punch its ticket to the WCWS. The Rebels, like the Red Raiders, look very different this year with two of their top players coming over from the Division II ranks.

Emilee Boyer began her career at West Texas A&M, about a 90-minute drive north of Lubbock, where she earned multiple national player of the year honors. A native of Harrisburg, South Dakota, Boyer said the adjustment to the culture and weather in Texas was "crazy" and similar to the experience she had making the jump up to the SEC with Ole Miss.

"The transition's been a pretty big difference," Boyer said. "I guess you could say a lot better teams, but they did well to prepare me to get to this moment."

One of Boyer's teammates at Ole Miss is Laylonna Applin, who played at Angelo State. Applin, a native of Stamford, and Boyer were rivals in the Lone Star Conference before coming together in Oxford.