Dixon Griffiths earn weekly conference honors

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Junior pitcher Miranda Dixon and freshman shortstop Brittany Griffiths have been recognized by the Southeastern Conference as the SEC Pitcher of the Week and Freshman of the Week, respectively, it was announced Monday by the league office. This marks the third conference honor for Dixon during her Razorback career and the first for Griffiths. Arkansas swept Mississippi State in a mid-week series and took two of three from Kentucky in a home series to end the week.

“We had a really great week as a team,” head coach Jamie Pinkerton said. “This is a great award for Miranda after going 4-0 this week and she’s really starting to put together a great season at 11-2, so the award is well deserved. Brittany Griffiths has been rock solid for us all season at shortstop and now she’s starting to hit. She was really instrumental all week for us at the plate with a .412 average and some good at-bats, especially in the Mississippi State series.”

Dixon picked up victories in games two and three of both series this week and improved to 5-0 with a 1.60 ERA in SEC play. In all four wins this week, she pitched a complete game to double her season total to eight. In her first start of the week, the Edmond, Okla., native had nine strikeouts against Mississippi State in game two of that series, her second-highest total of season. At the plate, she clubbed a two-run home run in game two against Kentucky and pushed her program-leading career total to 22.

Overall, Dixon is 11-2 on the season with a 2.26 ERA and has won eight decisions in a row. She has made 11 starts this season and appeared in 19 games, both team highs. Dixon also has three saves to her credit. For the second consecutive season, Dixon garners Pitcher of the Week recognition following efforts against Kentucky.

Griffiths began the week by driving in the game-tying runs in fourth inning in game one against Mississippi State. Then, with the game in extra innings, she had the game-winning RBI with a single in the eighth. Griffiths scored the game-winning run in game two of series against Mississippi State and had her first career three-hit performance. She finished the week with seven hits and four runs scored.

The Plano, Texas, native has recorded at least one hit in six of Arkansas’ eight SEC games, including four of the six games last week. Griffiths is second on the team with a .340 batting average this season and is hitting .391 against SEC opposition.

Arkansas (18-10) is off to its best conference start in program history with a 7-1 record and has won its first three conference series. The Razorbacks hit the road this week for a pair of series, a mid-week doubleheader at No. 6 Tennessee and a weekend set against Ole Miss. For more information, visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.