ROCK HILL, SC—The Winthrop softball team is set to host a weekend series with Radford that will begin Friday at 7 p.m. at Terry Field and feature the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.
There is rain in the forecast for Friday and Saturday so continue to watch for updates and changes to the schedule at
www.winthropeagles.com,
https://www.facebook.com/WinthropEagles, or @WUEagles.
Winthrop enters the game having lost three straight after a six-game stretch away from home. The Eagles are 16-16 overall and 4-5 in the Big South while Radford is 7-16 on the year and 1-2 in the league as it opened up conference play last weekend at Campbell.
For a 5-6 year span this matchup was one of the best in the Big South Conference to watch, but since 2009 the series has been dominated by the Highlanders. It was 2008 the last time the Eagles took a series from Radford (2-1 in Radford, VA). The Eagles are just 4-16 against Radford since that series and have lost 13 of the last 14 meetings. The Eagles only win during that stretch coming at the 2013 Big South Conference Tournament. Radford now leads the all-time series 39-29.
The first of six straight on the road began with a doubleheader at Presbyterian College on Mar. 20 as the Eagles swept the twinbill. Then Winthrop opened up its road series at Longwood with a 14-3 victory as the team exploded for 15 hits behind freshman
Megan Winningham's 4-for-4 performance with three runs and five RBI. The four hits, three runs and five RBI were all career-highs.
Since the Eagles have dropped three in a row, managing six runs total and allowing 16.
Leading the team in batting is a familiar name,
McKenzi Corn. The senior outfielder is hitting .432 with 20 runs, seven doubles and 14 RBI. Another senior,
Mel Andrea, has been providing lots of offense for the Eagles with a .317 average and 15 runs, four home runs and 24 RBI. Senior
Alex White has the fourth best batting average on the team with a .305 average and seven runs, eight doubles and 17 RBI.
Freshman
Maddie Antone has been a nice addition to the offense as the lefty is batting .381, which is the second best average on the team by far. She is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak and has reached base in 13 straight games. She's been even better in league games with a .542 average in nine starts with four runs and four RBI.
As a team Winthrop is batting .276, which is second best in the Big South Conference. The team got off to a slow start offensively as it faced a very competitive schedule and batted .197 in the first 13 games. Since the Eagles are hitting .324 as a team and .311 as a team through nine league games. Winthrop has averaged five runs per game in league play and allowed four per game.
Winthrop's pitching rotation should feature senior
Sara Allen with the possibility of sophomore's
Dallas King and
Bradlee Holeman making a start as well. Allen is 3-3 in the league with a 2.26 ERA and has 28 strikeouts in 34 innings but has issued 21 walks. King is 1-1 in the league with a 2.21 ERA and has five strikeouts to one walk in 12.2 innings of work. Holeman is 0-0 with a 15.000 ERA with 2.1 innings of work. Junior
Sutton Watson has been out with an injury and it is doubtful she'll throw this weekend.
Radford's led by Jessie Hutchens as she's hitting .338 with 13 runs, six home runs and 14 RBI. In her two seasons against Winthrop, Hutchens has six runs, five hits, six RBI and a home run. Julie Gardner is second on the team in batting with a .283 average and is tied for second on the team with seven RBI. Hayley Tabora is averaging just .200 on the year but is tied for second on the team with seven RBI. Becky Mantel, batting .159 on the year, is second on the team in runs scored with 10 and finished with three hits, five runs, and three RBI with a double and home run against Winthrop last season.
Winthrop could face a number of pitchers this weekend as the Highlanders have three pitchers with at least five or more starts. Racheal Walters has the most starts with 10 and is 4-7 on the year with a 4.30 ERA and 59 strikeouts to 20 walks in 53.2 innings. Abby Morrow is 2-4 on the year with a 3.71 ERA and has 53 strikeouts to 13 walks in 62.1 innings. Kelsey Weddle has the lowest ERA on the team at 3.65 with a 1-4 record and 14 strikeouts to 10 walks in 23 innings.
