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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Softball Opens 2010 Season In Arizona
2/10/2010 | Softball
The Rebels open the season with Western Michigan on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. before taking on the host Sun Devils, who are ranked No. 5 in the nation in the NFCA preseason poll and advanced to the Women's College World Series last year. On Friday, Ole Miss will face off against Oregon State and Ohio before rapping up the tournament against Portland State on Saturday.
"I am very excited to see how we play to start the season," said Ole Miss head coach Missy Dickerson. "This will give us the opportunity to face some tough competition to start the season."
The Rebels will be lead by an experienced senior class that is headlined by a pair of record setters in Lauren Grill and Becky Nye. Grill, a 2008 NFCA first team All-American, is the Ole Miss career leader in batting and ranks second in school history in both home runs and RBI, while Nye ranks in the top three in Ole Miss history in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched. The duo is joined by fellow seniors Alise Doubt, Ashley Dowdy, Courtnie Ghinaudo, Alyssa McGovern and Amber Tramp.
In addition to returning 11 players that started at least one game last season, the Rebels received a huge boost this past off-season when All-Big 12 pitcher Brittany Barnhill decided to transfer to Ole Miss from Texas. A two-way player, Barnhill led the Longhorns with 26 wins last season en route to first team All-Big 12 honors as a pitcher. At the plate, the Rhome, Texas, native blasted eight home runs and knocked in 26 runs a year ago and helped lead Texas to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in her two years in Austin.
