Dowdy And Grill Make SEC All-Freshman Squad

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. The Ole Miss freshmen have made a significant impact on the diamond for the 2007 Rebels, and two were rewarded Wednesday for their individual success as shortstop Ashley Dowdy and third baseman Lauren Grill have been named to the Southeastern Conference Softball All-Freshman Team, as voted on by the league coaches.

As two of seven regular freshman starters for Ole Miss, Dowdy and Grill helped the Rebels advance to the program’s second straight SEC Tournament and a school-record 11 wins in league play. The No. 8-seeded Rebels will play the nation’s top-ranked Lady Vols of Tennessee

on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Auburn, Ala.

A native of Olive Branch, Miss., Dowdy has started every game at shortstop in her rookie campaign. She is the third straight Rebel shortstop to receive the honor, following Chloe Kloezeman (transferred after the 2005 season) and Lisa Conchos (moved to second base this year).

Dowdy led the Rebels with a .273 batting average in league play and tied with Grill for top honors with 11 RBI. Overall, Dowdy is hitting .269 with four home runs and 19 RBI. She ranks second on the team with 28 runs scored. She made a name for herself in the series win over No. 19 Florida, scoring four runs, including a walk-off game-winning run in the 10th inning of game one. She also drove in both Rebel runs in a 2-1 win over No. 9 LSU.

A Tualatin, Ore., native, Grill has already established herself as one of the top sluggers in Ole Miss history after just one season. She set the freshman home run and RBI records and is within one long ball of tying the overall season record of 15 set by DeDe Justice in 2003. She tops all SEC freshmen in home runs, slugging percentage and total bases.

While patrolling the hot corner in every game this season, Grill has managed to lead the team with a .329 batting average, 34 runs, 55 hits, 14 home runs, 31 RBI, 108 total bases, a .647 slugging percentage, 24 walks and a .414 on-base percentage. She also set a school record with a 12-game hitting streak and was instrumental in the Rebels’ 5-4 victory over No. 1 Tennessee on March 14, hitting a home run in the sixth inning.

In other awards, Tennessee took home top honors in almost every category with the Player of the Year (India Chiles), Pitcher of the Year (Monica Abbott), Coaches of the Year (Ralph and Karen Weekly) and Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Lindsay Schutzler). Mississippi State’s Chelsea Bramlett was named Freshman of the Year.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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