CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University softball program has signed four student-athletes to National Letters-of-Intent, head coach Jess Dannelly announced today (Nov. 15). The Chanticleers will welcome Mecaela Ballard (Groves, Texas/Port Neches Groves), Laicole Walker (Wichita, Kan./Wichita Collegiate), Ashley Frederick (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) and Brittany Hollifield (Rockford, Tenn./Alcoa) for the 2006-07 academic year.

"We are very pleased with our recruiting class," Dannelly said. "We signed four of the five players that we were targeting this fall.

"We've added some speed in the outfield and infield with Ballard and Walker," Dannelly continued. "The other two, Frederick and Hollifield, are hard throwing control pitchers.

Ballard, a 5-0 switch-hitting outfielder, played for the 18U Texas Thunder last season, where she stole 28 bases.

Walker, a 5-2 shortstop/outfielder, hits from the right side. During the summer she played for the Wichita Mustangs, where she stole 20 bases.

Frederick, a 5-8 right handed pitcher, had 14 wins, 196 strikeouts and 0.40 ERA playing for the 16U Bayside Blues during the summer. She pitched her first two years in high school in Pennsylvania for the Latrobe Wildcats and her junior year in Maryland for the Patuxent Panthers and has recorded 349 strikeouts in 290 innings with a combined ERA of 0.60.  As junior, she was named All-Met Honorable mention by the Washington Post and as a sophomore she was a member of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette All-East Team.

Hollifield, a 5-11 right handed pitcher, won 20 games with 288 strikeouts and a 0.74 ERA playing over the summer for the Knoxville Lady Eagles. In high school, while pitching for the Lady Tornado's, Hollifield has registered 800 strikeouts while being named to the all county and all-district squads in each of the last three seasons. She also took home all-region honors in 2004.

"This season we will be losing eight players to graduation, so we felt that we needed to add four to six players in this class," Dannelly stated. "We plan on signing two more players, including a catcher, in the spring to complete the class."

Coastal softball opens its 2006 season on Feb. 11 as it hosts Illinois State at 12:30 p.m., in the CCU Tournament.