ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop softball team will return to conference play this week as the Eagles travel to Presbyterian for a doubleheader Thursday followed by a three-game series at Longwood starting Saturday.
Winthrop enters this week with a 13-13 overall record and a 1-2 mark in the conference. Saturday the Eagles split a doubleheader with Towson and the Sunday contest was rained out. Winthrop's only conference series came against Charleston Southern earlier last week and the Eagles took one of two games from the Buccaneers.
Senior McKenzie Corn leads the team and is second in the Big South with a .432 average this season, collecting 32 hits in 74 at-bats. Freshman Maddi Antone and senior Mel Andrea have each hit for some power this year, knocking four home runs apiece. Andrea also leads the team in RBI with 21.
In the circle, senior Sara Allen and junior Sutton Watson each have five wins on the year for the Eagles while sophomore Dallas King leads the team with a 2.70 ERA.
Presbyterian enters Thursday's doubleheader with a 14-9 overall record and is yet to play a conference contest. The Blue Hose are coming off a weekend three-game sweep of UNC Wilmington.
Sophomore Kersten Legacki leads the Blue Hose at the plate with a .382 average through 23 games, collecting 26 hits including five homeruns and 21 RBI. The Blue Hose have gotten power from multiple parts of their lineup as eight seven different players have homered this season.
Sophomore Sydney Seigler leads the Blue Hose with eight wins in the circle this year while freshman Natasha Sherrod has recorded a 4-0 record and sports a 1.09 ERA.
Saturday afternoon the Eagles will open a three-game set against the Longwood Lancers with a doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday.
Longwood, the reigning Big South champions, enter the week with a 13-5 overall record and a 2-0 conference mark. The Lancers will play a doubleheader against Liberty on Thursday prior to the weekend series. Longwood is coming off a two-game sweep of Charleston Southern over the weekend with the final game being rained out.
The Lancers are led by junior Megan Baltzell and sophomore Emily Murphy who each have better than .400 batting averages this season. Murphy has recorded 21 hits this season with five homeruns and 13 RBI. She also leads the Big South with a .900 slugging percentage.
Junior Libby Morris leads a young pitching staff with five wins which is also matched by freshman Elizabeth McCarthy. Freshman Jenna Carnes has a 3-0 record this year with a 1.33 ERA.
