.png&width=48&height=48&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Softball Preview: Corner Infielders
2/2/2019 | Softball
An In-Depth Look at the Players that will be at the Corner Bags for the Rebels in 2019
By Caleb Kelly, Ole Miss Athletics Communications
As the Rebel softball team nears the start of another exciting season, OleMissSports.com will breakdown each position group. Saturday's in-depth look features the corner infielders, where a pair of newcomers join four returning players from last season's squad.
At the corners, senior Brittany Finney (Wichita, Kansas) will help at first when she's not in the circle along with sophomores Abbey Latham (Livingston, Alabama), Gabby Alvarez (Riverside, California) and Sydney Gutierrez (Pearland, Texas). Meanwhile, sophomores Amanda Roth (Carrollton, Texas) and Kacey Hvitved (Snohomish, Washington) will cover the third base line.
Finney will look to start off this season as she finished her junior campaign. The senior was on fire during the month of April as she recorded three home runs, three doubles and 12 RBIs, putting her batting average at .329 for the month. Finney finished with the second-highest slugging percentage among all Rebels at .400. Six doubles and four long balls would help her rank third on the team with 19 RBIs.
Hampered by a shoulder injury that limited her to designated player duties, Latham had a solid freshman year as she blasted seven over the fence in just 69 at-bats, leading the team in both home runs and slugging percentage (.652). 72 percent of the sophomore's base hits went for extra bases in 2018, proving she will be a threat to be reckoned with in the SEC for years to come. Fully healthy entering the new season, Latham will push for more playing time in her second year in Oxford.
Coming back from an injury herself that saw her forced to sit out her true freshman season, Alvarez started the 2018 season strong with her first career hit against Texas during Ole Miss' Puerto Vallarta College Challenge Championship run. Despite somewhat limited action during the California native's redshirt-freshman season, Alvarez still managed production in her opportunities, posting a pair of multi-RBi games against Texas A&M and Chattanooga.
Gutierrez, the Region XIV South Division Player of the Year at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, led the division in batting average (.428), home runs (11), and RBIs (48) after posting 66 hits. The sophomore transfer will need to adjust to the bump in competition from the junior college ranks to the gauntlet that is SEC softball but has shown the ability to produce at the plate at the college level.
Entering her second collegiate season at the hot corner, Roth will look to maintain her spot in the starting lineup after starting 48 of 57 games a year ago, including the final 28 at third base. The Carrollton, Texas product blasted six home runs and collected 20 runs batted in to rank second on the team. Roth saved some of her best work for the biggest moments, crushing walk-off big flies against Auburn and Georgia.
Roth will have some quality competition for her spot with the addition of junior college standout Hvitved, who was rewarded with Shoreline Community College's MVP award. During her only season in junior college in her home state of Washington, Hvitved batted .418 with 18 doubles, two triples, and nine home runs, driving 31 runs in. The second team all-region infielder hopes to flash some leather and provide some pop when the Rebels start play this coming week.
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole MissSoftball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16.
As the Rebel softball team nears the start of another exciting season, OleMissSports.com will breakdown each position group. Saturday's in-depth look features the corner infielders, where a pair of newcomers join four returning players from last season's squad.
At the corners, senior Brittany Finney (Wichita, Kansas) will help at first when she's not in the circle along with sophomores Abbey Latham (Livingston, Alabama), Gabby Alvarez (Riverside, California) and Sydney Gutierrez (Pearland, Texas). Meanwhile, sophomores Amanda Roth (Carrollton, Texas) and Kacey Hvitved (Snohomish, Washington) will cover the third base line.
Finney will look to start off this season as she finished her junior campaign. The senior was on fire during the month of April as she recorded three home runs, three doubles and 12 RBIs, putting her batting average at .329 for the month. Finney finished with the second-highest slugging percentage among all Rebels at .400. Six doubles and four long balls would help her rank third on the team with 19 RBIs.
Hampered by a shoulder injury that limited her to designated player duties, Latham had a solid freshman year as she blasted seven over the fence in just 69 at-bats, leading the team in both home runs and slugging percentage (.652). 72 percent of the sophomore's base hits went for extra bases in 2018, proving she will be a threat to be reckoned with in the SEC for years to come. Fully healthy entering the new season, Latham will push for more playing time in her second year in Oxford.
Coming back from an injury herself that saw her forced to sit out her true freshman season, Alvarez started the 2018 season strong with her first career hit against Texas during Ole Miss' Puerto Vallarta College Challenge Championship run. Despite somewhat limited action during the California native's redshirt-freshman season, Alvarez still managed production in her opportunities, posting a pair of multi-RBi games against Texas A&M and Chattanooga.
Gutierrez, the Region XIV South Division Player of the Year at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, led the division in batting average (.428), home runs (11), and RBIs (48) after posting 66 hits. The sophomore transfer will need to adjust to the bump in competition from the junior college ranks to the gauntlet that is SEC softball but has shown the ability to produce at the plate at the college level.
Entering her second collegiate season at the hot corner, Roth will look to maintain her spot in the starting lineup after starting 48 of 57 games a year ago, including the final 28 at third base. The Carrollton, Texas product blasted six home runs and collected 20 runs batted in to rank second on the team. Roth saved some of her best work for the biggest moments, crushing walk-off big flies against Auburn and Georgia.
Roth will have some quality competition for her spot with the addition of junior college standout Hvitved, who was rewarded with Shoreline Community College's MVP award. During her only season in junior college in her home state of Washington, Hvitved batted .418 with 18 doubles, two triples, and nine home runs, driving 31 runs in. The second team all-region infielder hopes to flash some leather and provide some pop when the Rebels start play this coming week.
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole MissSoftball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16.
Players Mentioned
1B/DP
/ Softball
RHP/1B
/ Softball
1B/UT
/ Softball
3B
/ Softball
1B/DP
/ Softball
3B
/ SoftballHIGHLIGHTS: Softball vs.Southern Miss(04/21/26)
Tuesday, April 21
Madi George Ole Miss All-Time Single-Season Home Run Record
Sunday, April 19
HIGHLIGHTS: Softball vs.North Alabama(04/14/26)
Tuesday, April 14
HIGHLIGHTS: Softball vs.Samford (04/07/26)
Tuesday, April 07