Griffiths named to SEC All-Freshman team

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Brittany Griffiths has been named to the 2009 Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team, it was announced by the league office Wednesday. The Plano, Texas, native has started all 53 games at shortstop and is fourth on the team with a .267 batting average. Griffiths is the third Razorback to garner all-freshman honors in program history, joining teammates Jessica Bachkora and Miranda Dixon, who were recognized in 2007.

“To be named to the all-freshman team in the SEC is a tremendous honor for Brittany Griffiths,” head coach Jamie Pinkerton said. “She has made an immediate impact for our team, both offensively and defensively, so this award is well deserved and is a tribute to the hard work she has put in this season. I’m happy to see my peers take notice of the kind of season she has had for us.”

Against SEC teams, Griffiths is hitting .273, which is tied for the second-best mark on the team. During conference play, she has tallied 10 RBI and 18 hits, both marks are good for fourth on the team. She had a pair of three-RBI performances in Arkansas’ wins over Mississippi State and LSU. Griffiths finished the LSU series with five RBI, including a two-run home run, her first against an SEC opponent.

Griffiths earned Arkansas’ first SEC Freshman of the Week award after helping the team to a 5-1 mark against Mississippi State and Kentucky. She finished the week 7-for-17 with three RBI and four runs scored. In game one of the series against the Bulldogs, she collected the game-winning RBI in the top of the eighth inning to go along with her two-run single in the fourth that tied the game.

At her shortstop position, Griffiths is second on the team with 52 assists against conference opposition. She has been in the middle of seven doubles plays turned during SEC play and had four league games with at least four assists, including a season-high six against No. 1 Florida.

The Razorbacks are the No. 7 seed for this week’s SEC Tournament and will open play Thursday with a 12:30 p.m. (CT) first-round contest against No. 3 Alabama, the tournament’s second-seeded team. The SEC Tournament appearance this season marks the seventh in program history. For more information, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

2009 SEC All-Freshman TeamP – Chanda Bell, KentuckyP – Cat Hosfield, TennesseeIF – Brittany Cervantes, KentuckyIF – Jessica Spigner, TennesseeIF – Juliana Santos, LSUIF – Brittany Griffiths, ArkansasOF – Cassandra Reilly-Boccia, AlabamaOF – Ka’ili Smith, Mississippi StateOF – Alicia Sisco, FloridaOF – Corrine Doornberg, Ole MissOF – Michelle Moultrie, FloridaC – Kristyn Sandberg, GeorgiaDP/Util. – Amanda Locke, Alabama