OXFORD, Miss. Ole Miss softball head coach Missy Dickerson announced the addition of three new members on Friday, signing Kelly Chandler, of Jackson, Miss., Cali Overbeck, from Tennessee, and Amanda Hutcheson, from Georgia, to national letter-of-intents. The trio will join the Ole Miss softball team for the 2007-08 academic year.
“This class adds several dimensions to our team,” said Dickerson, who is entering her third year at the helm of the Ole Miss softball program. “It features pitching, speed and power hitting. All of which can help take us to the next level.”
Chandler, an MPSA All-Star, accumulated an outstanding record of 126-47 over her career as a pitcher at Jackson Prep. She logged 1,093 strikeouts over that span with a 0.66 ERA. Chandler was also a first team All-Conference selection three times while in high school.
As a starting pitcher, Chandler set two high school records at Prep for most career wins (126) and most career strikeouts (1093). She started every year since the seventh grade and helped Prep win four AAA State Championships and four overall State titles.
She turned in a career batting average of .425, RBI total of 161 and was nominated for the W.C. Pop Allen award by Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum as junior. Chandler is the daughter of Todd and Louanne Chandler. She was coached in high school by Cory Caton.
The sister of current Ole Miss baseball player Cody Overbeck, Cali Overbeck hails from Mumford, Tenn., and has become the first Munford softball player to sign a scholarship with an SEC school. As a junior, she batted .389, hit five home runs and led the Munford Cougars to within one game of the Class AAA state tournament. Overbeck also helped the Lady Cougars capture the regular season District 13-AAA title as a senior
Overbeck is a member of National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and is the student council secretary. She was selected as Munford’s homecoming queen and is the daughter of Donnie Overbeck and Penny Wilson.
Hutcheson comes to Oxford from Loganville, Ga. where she was a catcher and outfielder for the Grayson Rams. One of seven starters returning this season for the Lady Rams, she held a .341 batting average, with six triples and 13 RBI as a junior. Hutcheson was voted to the Gwinnett Diamond Club All-County team and is tied for seventh in Gwinnett County Softball Records for most hits in a season with 40. Hutcheson is the daughter of Scott and B.J. Hutcheson.
The incoming class will try to help the Rebels build on a 2007 campaign that saw the team win a school-record number of Southeastern Conference games and upset No. 1 Tennessee, No. 9 LSU and No. 19 Florida during the regular season. Ole Miss opens the 2008 on Feb. 8 when they face Middle Tennessee at the Kennesaw State Tournament.
