It’s Ole Miss softball taking on Southern Illinois tonight in the first round of a historic NCAA Tournament for the Rebels, who will play their first game ever as a regional host. Ole Miss (40-18) will face the Salukis (33-22) in the late game at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.

Check back here for Ole Miss vs. Southern Illinois live score updates throughout the game, which will start at approximately 8:30 p.m. The game will be streamed online at WatchESPN.com.

UPDATE: The regional opener between North Carolina and Arizona State has been delayed by rain in the first inning. The game will resume at 7:15 p.m.

Arizona State advances to the winner’s bracket with a 9-3 over North Carolina. Ole Miss’ game will start at 9:47 p.m.

Bottom 5th: Miranda Strother walks it off with a single to center after Ashton Lampton’s double. Rebels win on a run rule. Final: Ole Miss 8, Southern Illinois 0

Kylan Becker follows Elantra Cox’s bunt single with an inside-the-park home run to increase the Rebels’ lead. She’s got five RBIs. Ole Miss 7-0.

Top 5th: Lee works around an error to retire the next three batters. She got some help from shortstop Paige McKinney, who laid out for a diving snag to take away a hit for the first out.

Bottom 4th: Ole Miss goes in order for the second straight frame.

Top 4th: Lee works a clean fourth.

Bottom 3rd: Ole Miss is retired in order.

Top 3rd: Southern Illinois gets a runner in scoring position with back-to-back one-out singles, but Lee gets a flyout and a popup in foul territory to end the threat. SIU with four hits so far.

Bottom 2nd: After a walk and an infield single load the bases, Kylan Becker clears them with a triple into the left-field corner. Ole Miss had four hits and a walk in the inning. Ole Miss 5-0.

Paige McKinney follows with an RBI single. Ole Miss 2-0.

Courtney Syrett’s bunt plates Miranda Strother for the game’s first run. Ole Miss 1-0.

End 1st: Ole Miss’ Kaitlin Lee allows a one-out single in the first, but it’s the only baserunner for either team in the frame. No score.

———

Standing amidst a swarm of reporters at the Ole Miss Softball Complex, Mike Smith could still hardly believe it.

“I pinch myself right now standing here talking to you guys,” Ole Miss’ coach said. “We’re talking about logos and seeding. It’s kind of surreal right now for us.”

But this is reality: Ole Miss is hosting its first-ever NCAA Tournament regional as the No. 12 national seed, making the Rebels a postseason favorite after years of futility. The role reversal starts tonight when Ole Miss takes on Southern Illinois following the 6 p.m. regional opener between Arizona State and North Carolina.

“The pressure’s a little different,” junior shortstop Paige McKinney said. “Being the host for a regional now, we’re kind of the top dog now. We’re not the underdog anymore.”

Not that the Rebels are running from heightened expectations.

In a year when the Southeastern Conference made history by getting all 13 teams into the NCAA field, Ole Miss rebounded from an 0-6 start in the league to win four of its last six series before winning four games in four days last week at the SEC Tournament to become the lowest seed to ever take the title.

The Rebels, who need one more victory to match the program’s single-season record set last season, finished with 12 wins against the NCAA field and 11 against the RPI top 25, tied for seventh-most in the country. Three of those came in the SEC Tournament, including a win over then-No. 1 Florida — one of just six losses for the Gators.

“I think you’ve got to carry yourself a certain way, you’ve got to enjoy it and you’ve got to stay humble about it,” pitcher Kaitlin Lee said.