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ROCK HILL, SC- The Winthrop baseball team is set to host Asheville in a three-game conference battle, although inclement weather has forced changes to the schedule. Friday night's game is still scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcasted on ESPN3. There will now be a double header on Saturday beginning at 2:00 p.m. with the second game starting 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

 It will be a busy weekend for the Eagles with events happening all weekend, starting with Faculty and Staff and Future All-American night on Friday night. All Winthrop faculty and staff members and their families will receive free admission to the game. Any children that come out wearing their team's jersey will receive $1.00 admission. The first game of Saturday's double header will be a Pink Out game for Breast Cancer Awareness sponsored by Winthrop's Zeta Tau Alpha chapter. Finally, the 1995 Winthrop baseball team will be honored in between games. This is the 20^th anniversary of the team which was the first Winthrop team to make an NCAA Tournament appearance.  

Winthrop leads the all-time series 69-24 and was 2-1 against the Bulldogs in 2014.

The Eagles (24-14, 4-8 Big South) are looking for their first conference series win this season and are battling for position among the Big South rankings. Currently, Winthrop is positioned in the sixth spot just above Presbyterian. Winthrop's hitters have combined for the second highest average in the conference, .295 just below fourth ranked Campbell (.297) and are led by Roger Gonzalez who has an average of .356 this season. The Eagles went 12-35 against Charlotte on Tuesday with home runs by Gonzalez and Jace Whitley. The Winthrop pitching staff has combined for an overall ERA of 3.99 which places them seventh in the Big South.

Asheville (16-21, 3-9 Big South) is trying to snap a four-game losing streak that includes a sweep by Presbyterian over the weekend. The Bulldogs need wins to qualify for conference tournament as they are currently ranked last in the Big South. They have played 12 out of their last 13 games on the road and are coming off five days of rest after their game against North Carolina was cancelled on Wednesday due to rain. Seniors Hunter Bryant and Tommy Houmard have started every game for the Bulldogs this season and lead the team with a combined .314 average, 88 hits and 41 RBIs. Asheville's throwers have allowed 256 runs on 385 hits for an ERA of 5.78, last in the conference.

This is the first season with the Bulldogs for head coach Scott Friedholm, who came to Asheville after serving as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Boston College for four years.