ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop softball steps away from Big South Conference play to take on Western Carolina in a double-header on Wednesday in Cullowhee, NC.
The first pitch is set for 4 p.m. as Winthrop looks to improve on its overall record of 9-22 while Western Carolina enters the game at 15-21.
Winthrop is coming off a series loss to Liberty last weekend as it fell 7-2 in the final game Sunday after splitting the double-header on Saturday. The Eagles are 2-3 in their last five games, despite the offense waking up and averaging 5.6 runs per game while batting .324 as a team in that stretch. On the flip side, the pitching has an ERA of 6.03 in the last five games and has allowed seven runs per game.
Chelsey Schoenfeldt has been on a tear offensively as she is batting .583 over the past five games with four runs, two doubles, two home runs and eight RBI. She has been slugging 1.250 and has a .667 on-base percentage as well. Brittany Stoudemire has also been swinging well with a .444 average in the last five. Ashleigh Jackson has increased her batting average by 50 points in the last five games as she's hitting .438 in that stretch.
The Catamounts feature an offense that bats .286 as a team and scores almost four runs per game. Kelly Braman is the top hitter with a .345 average with 16 runs, eight doubles, three homers and 14 RBI as she also has an on-base percentage of .402. Jordan Fulton is hittin g.330 with 22 runs and is 12-for-16 on stolen bases. Western Carolina has four more players batting over .300 as Morgan Wyatt at .320 also leads the team with 23 RBI while Shemekia Scotton is second on the team with 19 RBI and is batting .322.
Katie Kings leads the team with starts in the circle with 17 and is 7-9 on the year with a 3.51 ERA and 60 strikeouts to 16 walks in 103.2 innings. Amber Steinhardt also starts as she has a 7-7 record with nine starts and 22 appearances.
The key for these two teams will be to grab an early lead as both are strong when leading after four innings. Winthrop boasts a record of 8-2 when leading after four innings while Western Carolina is 13-3.
This will be just the third and fourth meetings all-time between the two schools. Winthrop won the first two meetings with a 6-4 win in 2006 and an 8-1 win in 2010. This will be the first time Winthrop has traveled to Cullowhee for a game against the Catamounts. The previous two meetings were in tournaments.
