Live Stats
ROCK HILL, SC—The Winthrop softball team is back in action this weekend as it heads to the Easton Bama Bash hosted by the University of Alabama.
The Eagles will open up play Friday, Feb. 22 at noon against Western Illinois and will turn around immediately following the game to take on Iowa at 2:30 p.m. Then on Saturday Winthrop will open up the day against Iowa at noon and will have some free time between games as it faces Western Illinois later on in the evening at 7 p.m. The weekend concludes on Sunday with a match-up against the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide at 2:30 p.m. Alabama is currently ranked #1 by the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll and is undefeated on the year at 11-0.
Winthrop is 2-4 on the year and is coming off a 1-0 victory over Samford in which sophomore
Sutton Watson turned in the best start of her career with a one-hit shutout with no walks and a career-high eight strikeouts.
Since the Eagles lost their opener 17-5, the pitching has been much more improved and performed well with a 1.62 combined earned run average since. As a staff, the Eagles have thrown 34.2 innings the last five games and have 23 strikeouts to just six walks but have committed 11 errors.
Watson on the year is 2-1 with a 2.03 ERA and has completed all three games in which she's started. She has 17 strikeouts to four walks in 20.2 innings pitched. Freshman Dallas King has the second most innings pitching with 11 in three relief appearances.
Senior
Chelsey Schoenfeldt is batting .357 with four runs, two homers, and six RBI on the year to lead Winthrop's offense. Sophomore
Kelsey Ritter has started three of five games played and is batting a team-best .364.
Freshman Zharne Glover is tied for the team lead in runs scored with four and leads the team with two stolen bases.
Western Illinois is 2-0 on the year after opening the season with a 10-3 victory over Central Arkansas and 10-2 over Belmont. The Eagles are 5-4 all-time against Leathernecks and the last meeting came on Feb. 17, 2012 in Athens, GA. Winthrop won the game 5-2 thanks to a three-run first inning. Winthrop senior
Kathryn Eberlin was 2-for-4 with a run and RBI in the game.
Sophomore Sammy Marshall and juniors Emma Jarrell and Briana Williams all lead Western Illinois in batting with a .500 average. Junior Monica Rondon has provided the most pop with two home runs and six RBI in just two games. Senior Kelsey Michelini has seen the most innings in the circle (11.0) and has a 1.91 ERA with four strikeouts and three walks.
The Eagles face an Iowa team that already has 10 games under its belt and boasts a 7-3 record. Junior Kayla Massey leads the team with a .375 average and has four RBI while sophomore Megan Blank is batting .367 with three home runs and 11 RBI. Massey and senior Chelsea Lyon have made five starts a piece in the circle. Massey is 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA and Massey is 3-2 with a 2.86 ERA. Winthrop has never defeated Iowa in three meetings.
Winthrop is 0-4 all-time against Alabama with the last meeting coming in 2007 in Tuscaloosa, AL when the Eagles traveled there for a tournament. Alabama won the game 14-1 five innings.
The Crimson Tide is led by All-American's Kaila Hunt and Jackie Traina. Hunt is a two-time All-America selection and is batting .448 on the year with 13 runs, five home runs and 13 RBI. Traina is batting .417 with five runs, three homers and 10 RBI while posting a perfect 6-0 record in the circle with a 0.94 ERA. She also has 59 strikeouts to 11 walks in 37.1 innings pitched.
