WINTHROP SCHEDULE AT COUGAR CLASSIC

Winthrop vs.Eastern Kentucky	Friday, Feb. 17, 4:30 p.m.	Live Stats
Winthrop vs. Illinois-Chicago	Saturday, Feb. 18, 9 a.m.	Live Stats
Winthrop vs. Monmouth	Saturday, Feb. 18, 11 a.m.	Live Stats
Winthrop vs. Lipscomb	Sunday, Feb. 19, 11:30 a.m.	Live Stats
Winthrop at College of Charleston	Sunday, Feb. 19, 1:30 p.m.	Live Stats

ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop softball heads toward the coast for the Cougar Classic at Patriots Point hosted by the College of Charleston and will open up Friday, Feb. 18 against Eastern Kentucky at 4:30 p.m.

LOOK BACK AT OPENING WEEKEND
The Eagles went 1-4 in their opening weekend at the Red & Black Showcase hosted by the University of Georgia. The offense produced 4.4 runs per game and nine of the 38 hits went for extra bases. Senior Paige Haley was one of seven players to start all five games as she is tied for the most hits last weekend with six and tied for most RBI with six. Junior Shayna Covington batted .353 with three runs.
 
COUGAR CLASSIC
Winthrop last played in the Cougar Classic in 2015 and went 1-3 on the weekend as it stranded a total of 30 runners in the four games. The Eagles lost 6-1 to Bowling Green, 1-0 to Pittsburgh in eight innings and 5-4 to UMASS while defeating Appalachian State 6-2. Maddie Antone and Paige Haley were named to the Cougar Classic All-Tournament Team. Antone had three hits, two runs and two RBI while Haley finished with four hits, four runs and an RBI. This year's field includes EKU, Illinois-Chicago, Monmouth, Lipscomb and the host Cougars.

ANTONE SHINES IN RETURN TO THE LINEUP
Redshirt-junior Maddie Antone returned to the lineup after missing the entire 2016 slate. Antone went 3-for-4 at the plate in the season opening win over East Carolina as she recorded a career-high six RBI and scored a run. She provided a three-run home run in the top of the seventh to secure the win. It was the 15^th home run of her career and she moved over the 60 RBI mark (64) and is inching closer to 100 career hits (93).

WESTBROOKS OFF TO HOT START
Freshman Ashley Westbrooks started the first five games and is batting .333. She got her first collegiate hit in her fourth at-bat against East Carolina in the opener with a single to right. She also scored her first collegiate run in the win over ECU. In the 4^th inning against 10^th-ranked Georgia, Westbrooks tripled to right field with one out. She has two triples already on the season.

SERIES HISTORY/SCOUTING (EASTERN KENTUCKY)
Winthrop and EKU meet for the 5^th time in program history and for the first time since 2014. The last meeting came in Rock Hill as the Eagles prevailed 5-1. Maddie Antone and Leah Young each had an RBI in the game. This will be the first action of the season for the Colonels. EKU is coming off a record-setting season as it started OVC action 10-0 and finished with a 34-17 record. The top returner is junior Paige Murphy, who led the team with a .395 average and on-base percentage of .498. Krislyn Campos is coming off a season in which she batted .282 with 34 runs, 16 doubles, three home runs and 27 RBI. Alex Sallberg is the only pitcher returning after a 10-6 season with 100 strikeouts to 21 walks in 125.1 innings and an ERA of 2.90.       

SERIES HISTORY/SCOUTING (ILLINOIS-CHICAGO)
This will be just the second time the Eagles have faced Illinois-Chicago. The only meeting came in 1999 at the Winthrop Invitational as the Eagles fell 5-0. The Flames are off to a 5-0 start after wins over IUPUI, Miami (OH), IPFW, Western Illinois and Butler. The offense was led by a number of players as Kayla Wedl, Alice Fitzpatrick, Jasmine Willis and Taylor Cairns drove in a combined total of 22 runs. Wedl is batting .538 with seven runs and a team-high six RBI while Fitzpatrick also drove in six runs. Willis and Cairns each drove in five. UIC scored 35 runs in the five games without a single home run. Elain Heflin tossed shutouts in both of her starts last weekend and struck out 16 in 12 innings (5 walks). Karissa Frazier also got two starts as she tossed one shutout and holds an ERA of 0.57.
 
SERIES HISTORY/SCOUTING (MONMOUTH)
The Eagles and Monmouth meet for the 5^th time as the all-time series is tied 2-2. The last time these two teams met in 2013 the Eagles hit four home runs in the seventh inning to force extras and won in the 8^th, 8-7. In the four meetings, Winthrop has scored a total of 21 runs while Monmouth has scored 22. Justene Reyes is the top batter returning at .342 as she finished with 28 runs, 11 doubles, nine home runs and 46 RBI. Nicole Wieczorek also returns after batting .333 with 22 runs, seven home runs and 30 RBI. Rachel Shotzbarger batted .305 with 38 runs, 13 doubles, four home runs and 34 RBI. The top returning pitcher is Sydney Underhill, whoc was 18-13 last season with an ERA of 2.33 and recorded 82 strikeouts with 50 walks in 171.1 innings.  
 
SERIES HISTORY/SCOUTING (LIPSCOMB)
This is the first meeting between Winthrop and Lipscomb. The Lady Bison are 2-3 on the year with two wins over Furman last weekend. Kasey Gibson leads the team with a .417 average while Caitlin Plocheck is batting .400 with three runs, three doubles, a home run and three RBI. Mandy Jordan made three starts and is 2-1 with a 1.57 ERA and 17 strikeouts to five walks in 22.1 innings.

SERIES HISTORY/SCOUTING (COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON)
Winthrop and College of Charleston meet for the 24^th time and first time since Mar. 9, 2007 in Rock Hill, SC as the Eagles won 2-1. The Cougars are off to a 4-0 start after two wins over George Mason and wins over Appalachian State and Jacksonville. Taylor Belfiore leads the Cougars with a .643 average and is tied for team-lead with five RBI. Jordin Jones is batting .600 with five runs and three RBI while Taylor DuPree is batting .500 with four runs and three RBI. Sydney Shipley made two starts and recorded one shutout as she has an ERA of 0.00 and is 2-0 after throwing 7.1 innings. Sam Martin made two starts, but is 0-0 with an ERA of 21.000 in two innings.
 
BIG SOUTH PRESEASON POLL
Winthrop is picked to finish seventh in the Big South Conference preseason poll, but has expectations of being toward the top of the league. With the addition of Antone and the consistency of Paige Haley through her career at the plate along with the emergence of Leah Young, Morgan Lowers and Blake Wallert the Eagles expect to have a lot more firepower up and down the lineup than the last few year