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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Brown Helps Spark Momentum Swing for Ole Miss Softball
4/2/2015 | Softball
by Austin Miller, OleMissSports.com
OXFORD, Miss. -- It's been a couple of big weeks for senior third baseman Allison Brown and the Ole Miss softball team.
On her senior day weekend, Brown helped lift the Rebels to a doubleheader sweep and series win over Mississippi State, five years to the day from their last series win over the Bulldogs. And then after the games, she got engaged.
"It was awesome to have family and loved ones out here to celebrate my Senior Day on the softball field," Brown said. "To also get engaged that weekend, it was the cherry on top of a great weekend."
"The other night against Mississippi State was pretty special," head coach Mike Smith said. "I knew before that game that she going to get engaged. I just wasn't sure when. I didn't know if they were going to do it after the game. That was great way for her as a senior to cap off a great weekend with us beating State and then to get engaged. I'm happy for her and she deserves the best."
This past weekend, Brown led the Rebels to a three-game sweep on the road at Arkansas, earning Southeastern Conference Player of the Week honors. As a team, the Rebels have won seven in a row, including five consecutive SEC victories, to improve to 22-13 overall and 5-7 in SEC play.
"We finally sat down as a team and said we could go one of two ways," Brown said. "We could stay where we're at, or we could pick it up and go in a new direction. We all knew that we wanted it. We took a different turn and stepped it up."
A four-year starter, Brown has had individual success, earning SEC All-Freshman team honors and all-region honors. Now, she's experiencing team success under Smith, who's in his first year as head coach at Ole Miss.
Their 22 wins equaled the win total from her freshman and junior seasons, three wins shy of the win total from her sophomore season. Their five SEC wins are the second-most during her career, two wins shy of the SEC win total from her freshman season.
"I'm extremely blessed that I even get to be a part of this for one year," Brown said. "I'm so glad I get to influence these girls one more year and get their mentality on this track that losing isn't acceptable anymore. We want to be a winning program. We want to contend in the SEC. The coaches are doing a great job of doing that, and we need all the players to keep going with the attitudes we have."
Brown and the Rebels ride the momentum of a seven-game winning streak into the final month of the regular season, starting with a three-game weekend series at No. 2 LSU this weekend. Many of their team and program goals remain in sight, including an SEC Tournament appearance, which would be their first since 2008, and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
"It's nice to see the smiles on their faces," Smith said. "They want to win, probably more than the coaching staff, and our coaching staff is competitive. I'm just happy for them and hopefully we can continue on the winning ways and they have a part of something special here, whether that's hopefully getting into the SEC Tournament, or getting into an NCAA Regional and beyond. I want them to have a great senior year that they can remember for a lifetime."
Austin Miller is a writer and blogger for OleMissSports.com. He joined the staff in June 2013 after serving as sports editor of the Daily Mississippian. Follow him on Twitter @austinkmiller.
