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ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop softball will host Gardner-Webb in a Wednesday afternoon doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. at Terry Field.

The doubleheader was originally scheduled to be on the road but Gardner-Webb's facility is under construction.

The Eagles are looking to end a five-game skid as they are 12-19 overall and 1-5 in the Big South. The Runnin' Bulldogs are 11-17 overall and 3-6 in the league and have won two straight. This will be the start of the Eagles third league series while it will be the fourth for Gardner-Webb.

This will be the 32^nd and 33^rd meeting all-time between the two schools as Winthrop leads the series 23-8 and has won six straight. Since Gardner-Webb joined the league, the Eagles have won five of the six series.

Over the last six games, head coach Mark Cooke has had to adjust the starting lineup and the batting order as the team's top batter Maddie Antone has been out with an injury. The sophomore shortstop is batting .388 with 23 runs, nine doubles, three home runs and 20 RBI hitting in the three-hole.

The team's top batter in Antone's absence has been senior Kristy Noble as she's hitting .357 with a home run is five starts during conference play. Noble is 5-for-21 with three runs, three RBI and two home runs in her career against Gardner-Webb.

Antone's replacement at short has been redshirt sophomore Haley Zuehlke, who has batted .300 with a home run in her five starts in league play. As a team the Eagles are only batting .238 after the team batted .273 against a competitive non-conference slate.

Freshman K.J. Uyeno is only batting .214 in league play but her on-base percentage is .353. She's reached base in 10 straight games and is batting .278 with an on-base percentage of .462 in that stretch. Sophomore Paige Haley, batting .349 on the year, is batting .393 with a run, a double and four RBI in the last 10 games.

Senior's Sara Allen and Sutton Watson along with junior Dallas King will be available to start in the circle for the Eagles. Allen is 7-6 on the year with a 4.57 ERA while Watson is 3-5 with a 4.12 ERA. King sports the team's top ERA at 3.40 but is 1-8 on the year. In King's last six starts, the team has only scored a combined three runs.

In 2014, Watson was 1-0 against Gardner-Webb without allowing a run in 7.2 innings and just one hit to go along with a walk and 10 strikeouts. Allen was 2-0 against the Runnin' Bulldogs in 12.1 innings allowing just two runs on 14 hits with two walks and 11 strikeouts. Between the two, they did not give up an extra-base hit. In her career against Gardner-Webb, Watson is 2-0 (five appearances, four starts) and has allowed six runs on 12 hits with 25 strikeouts to eight walks.

The Runnin' Bulldogs are coming off a doubleheader sweep at South Carolina State and are 6-9 on the road this season. This will mark the third straight league series on the road for Gardner-Webb.
Gardner-Webb is batting .294 as a team, which is third best in the league. The team is averaging 4.68 runs per game while allowing 6.28.

Senior Kellie Beres is the top batter with a .436 average, which is 3^rd in the Big South and 60^th nationally. She has a team-high 22 runs and has 15 RBI. The team leader in RBI is freshman Rachel Cumiskey with 24 while junior Scarlett Harris is second with 22. Cumiskey is second on the team with a batting average of .354 while Harris is third at .349. Harris and Cumiskey have combined for 11 home runs, 11 doubles and three triples.

In the circle the Runnin' Bulldogs are young with three freshmen and a sophomore. Sophomore Summer Darnell leads the team with 22 appearances and 16 games started. She's 8-7 on the year with a 4.12 ERA in 88.1 innings with 32 strikeouts and 33 walks. Ashley Wark is 2-6 on the year with two saves as she's posted a 4.94 ERA with 25 strikeouts to 20 walks. Sam Harrell has made 10 appearances with five starts.