FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 26, 2008

Southern softball signs four

Joplin, Mo. - Missouri Southern softball coach Bill Gray has announced the addition of Ashley Harris, Jessica Brooks, Alexandra Peters and Dawn Grass to his list of recruits. Each will join the Southern softball program and begin play in the spring of 2010.

Harris, a 5-3 catcher from Carthage High School, played for coach Gordon Godfrey where she started the past two seasons for the Tigers. Harris was an all-conference catcher in 2007.

"Ashley (Harris) gives us depth behind the plate and at other positions," Gray said. She improves our team speed and is a good local product that will make the team better."

Brooks is a third base/second base combo player that played for coach Jeff Hulse at Olathe East High School. A former Freshman of the Year, Brooks was named all-Sunflower conference this past year. She also played basketball at Olathe East.

"Jess (Brooks) is a hard-nosed player that has played for one of the better coaches in the KC area," Gray Said. "She knows how to play the game and plays multiple positions which will allow us to utilize her versatility."

Peters is a 5'10 right handed pitcher from Pryor, Okla. where she played at Adair High School before transferring to Crowder College. As a freshman at Crowder last season, Peters led all of the junior college ranks with 342 strikeouts and finished the season with a 1.38 ERA. She was a first team all-region selection.

At Adair HS, Peters was the conference Player of the Year twice and finished her career with a 0.045 ERA, two district championships and one regional title. She had ten no-hitters, 41 shutouts and held opposing batters to just a .117 batting average. She holds the school records for single-season (0.038) and career era (0.048) and strikeouts in a career (623).

"Alex (Peters) is going to further solidify our pitching staff," Gray said. "She has vast experience at Crowder and having seen her in the fall, she has a talent that will definitely help us within the MIAA and the region."

Grass is a 5-11 first basemen from Parkway South High School in St. Louis. She played for the Patriots and coach Stephanie Villigram where she hit .356 last season with four doubles, a triple, three homers and 23 RBIs. She had an on base percentage of .404 and slugged .529. She was a four time first-team all-conference and all-district selection and was all region in 2008.

"Dawn’s (Grass) bat as well as her defense will help improve our infield and will boost our offensive output," Gray said. "She’s skilled and has a lot of power and will definitely be a help right away."

"For my first recruiting class at Southern, this is a big step forward" Gray said. "We solidified our pitching, we replaced a big stick and solidified some defense for the future. We added players that are going to make an impact as soon as they step on campus."