TUCSON, Ariz.—Villanova (36-14) scored the first run of the game in its NCAA Championship debut and hung in until the end against SEC opponent Ole Miss (35-20) before falling by a 5-1 final score at Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in the first game of the Tucson Regional on Friday afternoon. Senior pitcher Paige Rauch (Windsor, N.Y.) singled home the lone Wildcats run with one out in the top of the third inning. Villanova has scored first in 31 of its 50 games this season and lost for just the fifth time in those games with Friday's result.
 
The next game for the Wildcats will be on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Pacific time when they play an elimination game against UMBC, who lost 7-0 to host Arizona on Friday evening. Television information for Saturday's game will be announced later Friday night. The winner of the Villanova-UMBC game will play again immediately after against the loser of the earlier game between Arizona and Ole Miss in the winner's bracket.
 
Friday's game between the Wildcats and the Rebels was scoreless for two innings before each team scored a single run in the third inning. Ole Miss capitalized on a two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth inning and scored three runs on consecutive run-scoring singles to take a 4-1 lead. An unearned run in the home half of the fifth inning accounted for the only other run of the game.
 
Junior center fielder Sydney Hayes (Douglassville, Pa.) was the first Villanova base runner of the game when she reached on an infield single with one out in the third inning. Sophomore left fielder Dani Dabroski (Cedar Grove, N.J.) followed and chopped a sky-high one-hopper back to the circle which Rebels starting pitcher Anna Borgen (12-7, 2.26 ERA) fielded cleanly but not in time to get the speedy Dabroski at first base.
 
Rauch batted with two on and one out and fouled off three two-strike pitches before lining a hard single into right field to score Hayes for a 1-0 lead. Rauch took second on the throw in from right field to give the Wildcats runners at second and third with still just one away. Borgen escaped the inning with no further damage after two pop-ups on the infield.
 
In the bottom of the third inning the Rebels number two hitter, Autumn Gillespie, singled with one out and Abbey Latham followed with an RBI double to the gap in left-center field. Latham rounded second and had to quickly slam on the brakes when Villanova cut off the throw in from Dabroski in left; a fortunate carom off the glove of junior shortstop Megan Kern (Royersford, Pa.) went right to sophomore third baseman Chloe Smith (Sacramento, Calif.) who made an easy toss to senior second baseman Angela Giampolo (East Windsor, N.J.) for a 7-6-5-4 putout as Latham was nabbed for the second out.
 
Blaise Biringer was at second base with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning when Ole Miss extended the inning long enough to score the go-ahead runs. Mikayla Allee walked on four pitches and the number nine hitter, Tate Whitley, bunted for a single which loaded the bases. It was Paige against Paige at that point with Rauch facing the Rebels leadoff batter and third baseman Smith, who went after the first pitch and singled to left to drive in two runs. Gillespie followed with a sinking liner up the middle for a third run in the inning.
 
The only other hit for the Wildcats aside from the three straight singles in the third inning was a leadoff single on a hard line drive through the right side by Smith leading off the top of the seventh against relief pitcher Ava Tillmann. Villanova did not draw a walk in the contest, the first time in 17 games and only the fourth time this year that the team did not have at least one free base.
 
Rauch (20-4, 2.20 ERA) lost for only the second time in her last 22 decisions and was charged with four runs on eight hits over four innings pitched. Senior Anissa Amarillas (Placentia, Calif.) worked the fifth inning and junior Sara Kennedy (Newtown, Conn.) was sharp in a scoreless sixth.