McDowell adds her voice & talent to Arkansas softball tests Saturday with Tulsa & OSU

BY DUDLEY E.  DAWSON

FAYETTEVILE – If you’ve been to any of Arkansas softball exhibitions or Razorbacks Unlimited scrimmages this fall, you have no doubt heard the voice of one very vocal rookie.

That would be freshman shortstop Ella McDowell, who will lead her team into pair of challenging exhibition games Saturday in Oklahoma against Tulsa at 12:30 and Oklahoma State at 3:30 p.m. at the Collins Family Softball Complex.

“I love to be loud, I love to cheer on my teammates because they are the ones that are going to pick me up when I down so if they are doing a great job, I want them to know it,” McDowell said.

“I would say that I have always been loud. It’s just who I am an I am not going to change it. I like to be myself. That’s all  can say.”

You can see the joy that McDowell, who shined as a prep at Richmond (Texas) Foster, has at being a diamond.

“I mean I feel great,” McDowell said. “I think softball is just so much fun so just getting to come out here every day with like-minded people who also want to be great makes it so easy. I have just been really blessed.”

The opportunity to play Tulsa and Oklahoma State, a squad that was in the Women’s College World Series last season, is one McDowell is relishing.

“I think it is definitely going to be hard, but I know for myself and for the rest of the girls on this team, we didn’t sign up for the easy way,” McDowell said. “So any team we play, it is going to be a great challenge and I think we are just looking forward to new competition and seeing what’s out there.

“Because we believe in ourselves and being tested is the only way to see if that belief is true.”

McDowell, part of an eight-member freshman class ranked fifth nationally by Extra Innings, went 5-for-5 last Sunday in a 13-2 and 8-0 doubleheader sweep of Missouri State.

Arkansas head coach Courtney Deifel knows she has a special talent in McDowell, who was ranked as the top infield high school prospect and third best overall player last year by Extra Inning Softball.

“She is exceptional, just built different and wired a little differently,” Deifel said.  “You can tell that in how she plays. There are people that can compete in the box and then there are just people who refused to get out.

“She refuses to get out, she competes and has a blast doing it as you can see. She’s just so talented no matter where we put her. She’s going to have a big career.”

Deifel is also pleased to be playing a pair of quality foes on Saturday.

“It is going to be a big day to learn, to challenge us, to see what we are made of, to see what we are going to need to address,” Deifel said. “They (the Cowgirls) are incredibly talented, they are really strong in the circle. And then Tulsa is very talented, too.

“It is what we were missing last year. We sought out to challenge ourselves more in the fall with such a young team and a lot of new faces because we want to see what we are made of.”

McDowell started last the first game of Sunday’s twin bill at shortstop and played third base and second base also during the two contests.

“I thought today was a lot of fun, just getting out there everybody and I think we played as one,” McDowell said. “It was just a great team atmosphere and I think the Hogs just really took it to them and stayed true to who we are.”

McDowell is aware collegiate ball is a step up from high school.

“It’s definitely been much harder being here,” McDowell said. “Practices are much different, even hitting off a (pitching) machine so  much. It’s a lot of adversity, but just when you are in an atmosphere where a lot of people believe in you, it makes things a little bit easier.”

McDowell hit .733 and named MVP of the U-18 World Cup Group C stage tournament while playing with fellow Razorback freshman Cam Harrison and leading the USA squad in winning the event

She led the team in five categories – batting average (.733), home runs (2), on-base percentage (.750), slugging percentage (1.267) and on-base plus slugging percentage (2.017).

Harrison was dominant in her two outings in the circle, posting a 1.00 earned run average with four strikeouts and three hits allowed in seven innings pitched.

“Besides playing for the University of Arkansas, there is no better feeling than playing for those three letters across my chest,” McDowell said. “It was just an incredible opportunity and one I had dreamed of since I was little.

“I had a tournament that wasn’t too bad and I was very blessed to be there and tried to make the most out of it.”

Photo courtesy of Razorbacks Communications