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ROCK HILL, SC—The Winthrop softball team jumps back into Big South Conference action this weekend when it hosts Gardner-Webb in a three-game series.

The series will begin with a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. and will wrap-up on Sunday with a single-game at 2 p.m.

Winthrop is 1-4 in its last five games and 3-7 in the last 10 as it sits at 14-28 overall and 2-10 in the league. Winthrop has lost six straight games in the league after taking the series at Liberty.

The Eagles offense has picked up lately as the team is averaging 2.6 runs per game in league games while the last 10 games have seen the team score 3.3 runs per game and 4.4 in the last five games. However, as the numbers rise offensively, opponents have also been able to increase their scoring as the team is allowing six runs per game in the last five.

During the last five games, Winthrop has outhit its opponents 46-44, but has scored eight fewer runs. The Eagles pitching has struggled in the past few weeks as opponents on-base percentage is .386. Junior Chelsey Schoenfeldt and sophomore Natalie Becker have combined to issue 27 walks in 33.2 innings and both have an ERA over 4.00 in the last five games. Over 50 percent of bases runners in the last five games have crossed the plate.

As a team the Eagles are batting .324 in the last five and opponents are hitting .317. The top batter in that stretch is freshman Kristy Noble, hitting .500 (8-for-16) with three runs, two doubles, a home run and five RBI. She's slugging .813 and has an on-base percentage of .579. The first-year second baseman started the season off slow and was batting just .118 after the loss to nationally-ranked Georgia Tech. Since then, Noble is batting .338 and has an on-base percentage of .413 over the last 28 games. She was moved to the three spot in the line-up for the Western Carolina doubleheader on Wednesday and went 3-for-7 with two RBI. In 12 league games, she's batting .313 with seven runs and six RBI. She's riding a five-game hitting streak and has reached base in nine straight games.

Schoenfeldt remains the top batter on the team with an average of .373 with 13 runs, seven doubles, five home runs and 25 RBI. She's three RBI shy of her single-season best and is currently batting .333 over the last five games and has one RBI in the last six games. She's averaged .394 with four runs and six RBI in 12 conference games.

Sophomore McKenzi Corn is swinging a hot bat as she's riding a five-game hitting streak and is batting .368 with four runs and five RBI in the last five games. She had a big two-run single to spark a five-run third inning for the Eagles in game two of the doubleheader with Western Carolina.

Senior Megan Chapman seems to be back in form at the plate as she's recorded a hit in six straight games and is batting .350 with four runs and two RBI in the last five games. She is closing in on 100 career runs and is now at 96 with at least 13 games remaining on the year.

The Eagles hold a 16-7 advantage in the all-time series against the Runnin' Bulldogs. Winthrop swept Gardner-Webb in 2011, but then lost 2-1 in the Big South Conference Tournament. Winthrop has won eight of the last nine regular season meetings.

The Runnin' Bulldogs enter the weekend with an 18-22 overall record and sit two wins above the Eagles in the conference standings at 4-6. A series victory by the Eagles could really jam up the league standings as Campbell, Presbyterian College and Liberty all have five wins.

Gardner-Webb split a doubleheader with Charlotte on Wednesday and has five wins in the last nine games.

Sophomore Samantha Meenaghan leads the way offensively for the Runnin' Bulldogs with a .394 average and 23 runs. She also has three triples, two home runs and 16 RBI. Senior McKenie Morenus is hitting .315 on the year with 19 RBI and 19 walks and freshman Savannah Burns is hitting .313 with 16 runs and a team-high 21 RBI. Sophomore Morgan Baker also has 19 RBI on the year and is batting .286.

Morenus has the best average in league games at .500 with three runs and three RBI while sophomore Elizabeth Williams is batting .429 in six appearances in league play and freshman Amanda Gomes is batting .391 with six RBI. Burns has the most RBI in league games with seven as the Runnin' Bulldogs are scoring 3.4 runs in league play and batting .318.

On the season, Gardner-Webb has been one of the top hitting teams in the league and has an average of .282. The Runnin' Bulldogs have six players batting over .280 and five over .300.

After starting league play 0-3, Gardner-Webb is 4-3 in the last seven games and took the Campbell series by outscoring the Camels 12-4.