ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop baseball team will begin the home portion of its 2011 season this weekend by hosting the Wagner Seahawks and Kent State Golden Flashes in the Johnny Gill Memorial.
The Eagles enter the weekend holding a 1-2 record on the diamond after opening their season last weekend on the road against the San Diego State Aztecs and San Diego Toreros.
The Seahawks will be opening their 2011 season at the Johnny Gill Memorial this weekend, while the Golden Flashes are 1-2 overall after opening their season against No. 21 Georgia Tech in Atlanta, GA
Wagner is coached by former Winthrop assistant Joe Litterio and is entering his 12th season as the head coach. Kent State is led by Scott Stricklin, who is coming into his seventh season at the helm of the Golden Flashes.
Winthrop opened its 2011 season on the West Coast last weekend and picked up a win in the season opener 14-9 against the Aztecs. It was the first career victory for head coach Tom Riginos. The Eagles are led offensively by redshirt junior outfielder Sean Sullivan as he is hitting .455 with a team-best five hits. Redshirt junior designated Brett Thomas also leads Winthrop with five RBI, with all of those coming in the season opener against San Diego State. Redshirt sophomore pitcher Mitchell Knox picked up the win against the Aztecs on Feb. 25 tossing 2.0 innings of relief. It was his first career appearance as an Eagle.
The Seahawks finished the 2010 season with a 26-31 record. Wagner plays in the Northeast Conference, where it was picked to finish fourth in the annual preseason poll. Senior Seth Boyd returns as the team's top hitter from last season as he hit .321 with four home runs and 30 RBI. Senior Jon Lucas posted a team-high 32 RBI for the Seahawks in 2010. Redshirt senior Dale Hering went 3-1 with a 4.79 ERA in 12 appearances with eight starts for Wagner last season, and enters the 2011 campaign as one of the team's top pitchers.
The Golden Flashes finished the 2010 season with a 39-25 record and participated in the UCLA Regional of the NCAA Tournament. They currently play in the Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC). Kent State is currently led offensively by senior Ben Klafczynski with a .538 average at the plate and junior Travis Shaw with one home run. On the mound, junior David Starn picked up the team's only win last weekend against the Yellow Jackets and currently sports a 1.29 ERA in 7.0 innings pitched. Starn also struck out six Georgia Tech hitters in the three-game series finale on Sunday.
Winthrop leads the all-time series over the Seahawks 19-3, with all contests taking place at The Winthrop Ballpark. The Eagles swept Wagner 3-0 last season with scores of 3-2, 4-3 and 16-4. Winthrop has won the last six meetings dating back to the 2008 season. The Eagles also won the first-ever meeting between the two teams 4-3 on Mar. 13, 1988.
Kent State leads the overall series with Winthrop 14-12 with all 26 contests taking place in Rock Hill, SC. The Golden Flashes defeated the Eagles 8-1 in the first-ever meeting on Mar. 22, 1990, and have won the last two meetings dating back to the 2009 season. Winthrop last defeated Kent State on Mar. 2, 2008 when it was victorious 5-0. The Golden Flashes won a slugfest at The Winthrop Ballpark last season 16-10 during the Coca-Cola Classic.
The Eagles will host the second of three straight tournaments this season, the Coca-Cola Classic, next weekend with the participating teams including the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Manhattan Jaspers.
