ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop softball opens its season Friday afternoon at the 7
th Annual Red and Black Showcase hosted by the University of Georgia.
Winthrop will open play at 12:30 p.m. against James Madison and then take on the host Bulldogs at 3 p.m. The matchup with the Dukes will feature a familiar battled between head coaches as former Radford head coach Mickey Dean is in his second season at JMU. Winthrop head coach
Mark Cooke and Dean battled back-and-forth as two of the top teams during Dean's six-year stint with the Highlanders.
On Saturday the Eagles will take on JMU again at 10 a.m. and then face North Texas at 5:30 p.m. and then again on Sunday at 10 a.m.
Winthrop is coming off a 28-29 season in which it made a run to the Big South Conference Championship game for the 13
th time in school history. The Eagles fell 10-2 to a power-hitting Longwood team led by Big South Player of the Year Megan Baltzell, who blasted 30 home runs and had 78 RBI in 2013.
The Eagles lost four starters that nearly combined for 30 home runs last season and 48 percent of the runs driven in. However, the Eagles return a core of veteran players that hope to lead the Eagles back to a conference championship game again.
Senior
McKenzi Corn, a 2013 All-Big South selection in the outfield, returns as she led the team with a .408 batting average last season and with 45 runs. Corn set career-highs in batting average, runs, doubles, home run as well as several other categories. She is a left-handed contact hitter with power to all parts of the field. Corn had an on-base percentage of .493 and will continue to hit in the three spot this season.
Senior
Alex White and junior
Kristy Noble are also some big bats returning for the Eagles. White tied for second on the team with a career-high nine home runs and a .283 batting average (3
rd best on the team). Noble had another solid season at the plate batting .254 with 36 runs, nine home runs and 32 RBI. Other starters returning include senior
Mel Andrea (.220, 13 runs, 3 HR) and sophomore
Brooke Tracy (30 starts behind the plate).
Cooke is very excited for the season as he feels the team is extremely deep with talent and he could use a combination of 14-15 different players and "not lose a beat."
Winthrop does return the majority of its pitching, including the ace from 2013,
Sutton Watson. The junior had a good sophomore campaign in her first season as a starter, going 17-15 and tossing a team-high 185 innings (more than 100 more than any other pitcher on staff). Watson had an earned run average of 3.14 and had 144 strikeouts to 50 walks.
Four other pitchers will fight to put themselves in the regular rotation as senior Sarah Allen, sophomore's
Dallas King and
Bradlee Holeman along with freshman
Megan Winningham will get their opportunities early on in the season.
JMU finished last season with a 42-17 mark and a second place finish in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dukes return four starters that include sophomore first baseman Jailyn Ford, who hit .373 with 38 runs, 11 doubles, 15 home runs and 49 RBI in 2013. Ford was also the team's top pitcher in 2013 with a 24-6 record as she sported a 1.61 ERA along with 209 strikeouts to 66 walks.
The Eagles will take on a Bulldogs team coming off their 12
th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Georgia, which finished with a 40-21 record in 2013, begins the season ranked 21
st and 23
rd in the preseason Top 25 polls and returns seven starters and two starting pitchers this season.
The Bulldogs return several decorated players such as sophomore Geri Ann Glasco (NFCA 3
rd Team All-America, SEC Co-Freshman of the Year), junior Paige Wilson (1
st Team All-SEC, NFCA All-Region), and sophomore Kaylee Puailoa (1
st Team All-SEC, NFCA All-Region). All three players hit at least 16 home runs last season, led by Glasco's 19. As a team the Bulldogs hit 93 home runs and scored 6.7 runs per game. Glasco is also the top returning pitcher from 2013 as she was 17-8 with a 3.32 ERA and 124 strikeouts to 62 walks in 137 innings.
This will be the first ever meeting with North Texas, which finished 2013 with a 29-24 record and a 4
th place finish in a competitive Sun Belt Conference. The Mean Green left the Sun Belt and is now a member of Conference USA.
North Texas returns its top six hitters from a year ago, led by senior Brooke Foster's batting average of .377 to go along with 33 runs, 10 doubles, six home runs and 31 RBI. Foster was also 14-for-15 on the bases. Junior Danielle Hoff hit .291 with 16 runs, 13 doubles and 24 RBI while senior Jordan Terry hit .271 with 24 runs, eight home runs and 32 RBI. Sophomore Taylor Schoblocher led the team with 11 home runs as she also had 21 runs and 32 RBI.
Senior Ashley Kirk is the top returning pitcher as she was 15-10 with a 2.38 ERA and had 177 strikeouts to 76 walks in 152.2 innings of work.
Winthrop is 1-1 all-time against JMU, 2-18 against Georgia and this is the first meeting with North Texas. To learn more about the Winthrop softball team, click the 2014 Season Outlook link above.
With rain in the forecast for Saturday's action in Athens, please stay tuned to
www.winthropeagles.com and @WUEagles for any change in the schedule due to poor weather conditions.
