ROCK HILL, SC --  The Winthrop baseball team looks to bounce back from a tough weekend with a pair of non-conference midweek games against Davidson and Charlotte.
 
The Eagles look too rebound from the series sweep at the hands of Coastal Carolina over the weekend as they hit the road for a 6:00 p.m. ballgame Tuesday night at Wilson Field in Davidson, NC.  The Eagles put their bats to work when Davidson traveled to Rock Hill two weeks ago, as the Eagles lit up the scoreboard for eight runs on 14 hits in the 8-4 victory over the Wildcats.
 
Winthrop then returns home for a Wednesday night matchup with the Charlotte 49ers at 6:00 p.m. at The Winthrop Ballpark.  The Eagles brought home a win last week as Winthrop edged out the 49ers 6-5 at Hayes Stadium in Charlotte.
 
Despite the losses over the weekend, the Eagles hung tough with Coastal Carolina as two of the games were decided by one run.  In Sunday's series finale, the Eagles started out strong building a 2-0 lead through four innings, however, a three-run fifth inning highlighted by Ted Blackman's two-run homer propelled the Chanticleers to a 4-3 win as the Eagle offense was stymied once again by reliever Ryan Connolly in the closing innings.
 
The Eagles now hold a 12-25 record on the season including a 2-10 record in the Big South.  Winthrop now looks forward to its Tuesday match up with Davidson (10-24).  The Eagles are 24-10-1 all-time against the Wildcats including the 8-4 victory earlier this season.  Since the Eagles saw Davidson last, the Wildcats have gone 2-9 and remain winless on the road (0-14).
 
Nathan Becker (.302 batting avg.), Forrest Brandt (.292 batting average), and Andrew Barna (7 home runs) have been large contributors at the plate for the Wildcats and lead the team in most offensive categories.  As a team, Davidson is batting .252 while averaging over four runs per game.  Ryan Lowe (3-5) and Danny Mooney (3-4) have been the work horses for Davidson on the mound with each starting nine games and throwing over 50 innings so far this season.  The Wildcat pitching staff has struggled so far this season as they hold a 5.91 team ERA while allowing opposing teams a .311 batting average.  Davidson pitchers are surrendering 11 hits and just under seven runs per game to opposing offenses this season.
 
After Tuesday's game in Davidson, the Eagles return home for a 6:00 p.m. game on Wednesday night against Charlotte.  Charlotte, 22-13 on the season, is 3-0 since its last meeting with the Eagles with a three-game sweep over George Washington over the weekend.  Winthrop is 13-16-1 all-time against the 49ers including the 6-5 win last Tuesday in Charlotte.
 
The 49er hitters continue to terrorize opposing pitchers as four players are hitting above .300 while as a team they are swinging the bat at a .296 clip and averaging almost six runs and ten hits per game.  Charlotte is led at the plate by Justin Seager (.375 avg.), Shane Basen (.342 avg.), Brad Elwood (.356 avg.), and Brett Lang (.321 avg.).  Seager leads the team in most offensive categories including runs scored (31), extra-base hits (17), slugging percentage (.547), and on-base percentage (.484).  The Eagles will be going up against freshman right-hander Micah Wells (0-2).  Wells holds a 3.00 ERA in 15 innings pitched with seven strike outs and 11 walks.  As a staff, the 49ers maintain a 3.29 ERA and hold hitters to a .240 batting average.  Hunter May has been dominate out of the bullpen as he has compiled a 6-0 record and a 2.21 ERA in 20 relief appearances this season.
 
The Eagles' offense has come around over the past couple weeks as Winthrop hitters are averaging over then hits and five runs per game over the last ten games.  Third baseman Chad Smith has been swinging a hot bat lately going 14 for 34 with nine RBI's and seven runs scored over the last ten games.  Fellow infielder Leighton Daniels continues to improve as he is hitting .469 with eight runs scored and a .531 slugging percentage.  Eric Ruth's 3.2 innings of scoreless relief in Sunday's game lowers his ERA to 0.38 in 16 appearances this season.  Freshman lefty Sam Kmiec continues to be efficient on the mound as he currently ranks 3^rd in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio with 12.67 strikeouts per walk.  On the other side of it, outfielder Cody Dolan ranks 32^nd among Division I hitters in toughest to strikeout with only eight strikeouts in 125 at-bats (15.6 avg.)
 
The games this week can be followed on the Winthrop Sports Network via www.winthropeagles.com.  The ticket window at The Winthrop Ballpark will open an hour before the start of Wednesday's game.