Palmetto Classic Central
ROCK HILL, SC— The Winthrop softball team opens the 2012 season on Friday, Feb. 10 at the Palmetto Classic on the campus of the University of South Carolina.
Winthrop will face Cleveland State on Friday at 12:30 p.m. in its only game of the day. The Lady Eagles finished the 2011 season with a 16-36 record and finished seventh in the Big South with a 5-13 mark.
The Lady Eagles will also face Western Kentucky on Saturday at 10 a.m. followed by a 3 p.m. matchup with South Carolina. The team wraps up the weekend with a 3 p.m. contest against Tennessee State on Sunday.
There are seven starters returning for Winthrop, led by junior
Chelsey Schoenfeldt and senior
Megan Chapman. Schoenfeldt, a First Team All-Big South selection in 2011, led the team in batting with a .358 average and also had a team-high 12 doubles, seven home runs and 28 RBI. Schoenfeldt also handled most of the pitching duties, tossing 161.1 innings and finishing with a record of 9-17 with a 3.43 earned run average.
Chapman is a Second Team All-Big South selection at shortstop as she finished 2011 with a .318 average along with 32 runs, five doubles, two home runs and 15 RBI. Chapman also finished with a team-best 21 walks and 15 stolen bases.
Winthrop, which has dropped its season opener two straight years, returns both starters at the corners as sophomore
Alex White returns to third base while junior
Kathryn Eberlin started most of the games at first in 2011. Juniors
Teja Durante and
Jenna Harbin both return after starting a combined 76 games in the outfield. And the final starter returning is behind the plate as senior
Kelly Blea returns after 44 starts in 2011.
The pitching staff is led by Schoenfeldt and sophomore
Natalie Becker and also includes newcomers
Sara Allen and
Sutton Watson. All four could see action in the circle this weekend.
As the Lady Eagles look to rebound from last season, they will open up against a Cleveland State team that was 29-21 a year ago and returns three big bats. The Vikings lost the majority of their pitching in Tess Sito, but has three pitchers returning from last season. The staff consists of seniors Brittany Bate and Megan Bashak and junior Brandy Holmes. The three combined for 47.1 innings pitched in 2011.
The big bats returning for the Vikings are junior's Dara Toman and Gabby Gillilan and senior Andrea Nagy. Toman batted .284 with 10 home runs and 27 RBI while Gillilan hit .256 with four home runs and 16 RBI. Nagy batted .250 with three home runs and 22 RBI. As a team, Cleveland State hit 35 home runs in 2011 and also won the meeting against the Lady Eagles last season, 6-1.
Western Kentucky finished with a 30-29 record in 2011 and returns seven starters. The team had wins over Ole Miss and #6 Michigan last season. The Lady Toppers return both starting pitchers in junior's Mallorie Sulaski and Kim Wagner. Sulaski was 13-12 with a 2.52 ERA with 80 strikeouts and 78 walks in 172.1 innings. Wagner finished 11-11 with a 4.09 ERA with 88 strikeouts and 44 walks in 130 innings.
WKU averaged 4.2 runs per game in 2011 and returns its top eight hitters led by sophomores Kelsie Mattox and Amanda Thomas. Mattox batted .331 with 38 runs, 13 doubles, eight home runs and 36 RBI. Thomas batted .318 with 26 runs, 12 doubles, eight home runs and 35 RBI.
South Carolina made one of the nation's best turnarounds in 2011 as it improved its win total by 15 games from 2010. The Gamecocks finished the season 26-30 with wins over Michigan State, Georgetown, Charlotte, Ole Miss, and North Carolina.
A majority of the starters return for South Carolina, led by the top five hitters. Senior outfielder Lauren Lackey led the team with a .350 average with 26 runs and was a perfect 15-for-15 on the bases. Junior shortstop Samie Garcia batted .332 with 31 runs and 20 RBI. Garcia also had 15 stolen bases. Senior outfielder Kaitlin Westfall had a big bat in 2011 with a .300 average along with seven doubles, five home runs and 27 RBI.
The least amount of experience for South Carolina will be in the circle, where it lost two starters and another injury will test the depth. Redshirt Audrey Broyles and senior Kierstyn White will be the veterans along with freshmen Katelynn Howser and Kristen Struett.
Tennessee State, the Lady Eagles final opponent of the weekend, is coming off an 11-43 season. The Tigers return eight letter winners and three of their four pitchers.
Winthrop is 3-3 all-time against Cleveland State, 3-1 against Western Kentucky, 10-47-1 all-time against South Carolina and 2-0 versus Tennessee State.
