Will Texas Tech softball sweep the Lubbock Regional? Our prediction

Emilee Boyer pitches all but two innings for Ole Miss softball

A bit of a stretch, but if Ole Miss wants a chance to continue its run of upset wins in the tournament, the Rebels will need to rely on Emilee Boyer in the circle to do it.

Boyer was the Division II national player of the year after spending the first three years of her career at West Texas A&M up in Canyon, about a 90-minute drive from Lubbock. In last week's SEC tournament, in which the Rebels earned a pair of wins, Boyer pitched 15 out of a possible 21 innings. It's asking a lot to put the entire Lubbock Regional on her shoulders, but Boyer may need to if Ole Miss has a chance.

Ole Miss made the WCWS last year by pulling off upset wins in the Tucson Regional (downing fellow Big 12 team Arizona) and beating Arkansas in the supers. Are the Rebels in line to do it again?

Boston U faces Texas Tech softball in the finals

The Terriers have two of the best players in the Lubbock Regional that few outside of the Patriot League sphere have likely ever heard of.

Kylie Doherty is Boston U's version of Mia Williams, putting together the best single-hitting season in program history, setting (shattering, really) new marks for home runs (26) and RBI (88) in a season. The power bat is a complement to ace pitcher Kasey Ricard, who broke her own program record with 32 pitching wins and sports a 2.81 ERA and 230 strikeouts on the year.

The prediction? Texas Tech and Ole Miss each win their first games on Friday. The Red Raiders will take down the Rebels on Saturday to head to the finals. The Terriers, meanwhile, rebound on Saturday to eliminate Marist and then edge the Rebels in the rematch to send Ole Miss packing.

Texas Tech softball gets another regional title, winds up hosting Super Regionals

The Terriers will put a scare into the Red Raiders in the finals, Texas Tech resting a bit on the idea of playing the mid-major instead of the SEC team. Then Jasmyn Burns will launch another home run to ignite the crowd and send Texas Tech to the Super Regionals — where it'll get to play host after all.

Over in the Gainesville Regional, look for Texas State to provide one of the bigger upsets of the weekend, knocking the host Florida Gators out of the tournament. That sends the Bobcats to Lubbock for the supers and a chance for Texas Tech to clinch a return to the Women's College World Series on its home turf while getting some revenge from their loss to Texas State earlier this season.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Predictions for Texas Tech softball in the Lubbock Regional