ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop softball is back in action this weekend as it travels to Greensboro, NC for the Spartan Classic hosted by UNC Greensboro.

The Eagles will play Saturday at 9:30 a.m. against Delaware followed by a game at UNCG at 2:30 p.m. Sunday's games have been canceled due to the forecast of inclement weather

WINTHROP AT A GLANCE
The Eagles are 11-10 on the year and looking to end a two-game skid. The 11 wins are second most among Big South schools with Campbell leading the way with 13. As team the Eagles are batting .266 and scoring 4.2 runs per game. The offense is led by redshirt junior Maddie Antone, who is batting a team-high .392 and leads the team with 17 RBI. Sophomore Brooke Ellison is having a breakout season as she's second on the team with a .373 average and has eight runs and nine RBI. Senior Paige Haley has been very good at the top of the order as she is batting .323 with a team-high 17 runs and has 10 RBI. Haley's has the third best on-base percentage on the team at .413 and is a perfect 3-for-3 stealing bases.

PITCHING STAFF
Sophomore Kiley Majette leads the Eagles in games started and innings pitched, as she's 4-6 on the year with a 4.76 ERA. She's tossed three complete games and has 36 strikeouts to 20 walks in 56.2 innings. Sophomore Keleigh Romine is second on the team in starts with six and appearances (9). She's 2-3 on the year with a 3.86 ERA. Freshmen Sabrina Shroades and Madyson Watson have already gotten a lot of experience and faced some of the best competition the Eagles have faced this year. Shroades is 2-0 on the year with one start and five appearances while Watson is 3-1 with four starts and seven appearances. Watson has 21 strikeouts to nine walks in 26.1 innings.

SERIES HISTORY/SCOUTING (DELAWARE)
This will be the first time the Eagles have ever faced the Blue Hens. Coming into the weekend Delaware is 2-12 on the year and will face Campbell and UNCG on Friday before facing the Eagles on Saturday. The season began with three games out of five against nationally-ranked opponents. Last weekend they played in the Tennessee Invitational against Southeast Louisiana, Ohio, Bradley and the 15^th-ranked Volunteers. Emily Neal leads the team with a .308 average while Mariah Kolofer leads the team with 10 RBI. Anna Steinmetz is second on the team with a .295 average and leads the team with three home runs and second in RBI (8). Jordan Cargile leads the team with 50 innings pitched and eight starts as she's 2-7 with a 4.76 ERA.   

SERIES HISTORY/SCOUTING (UNC GREENSBORO)
This will be the 28^th meeting all-time between Winthrop and UNCG. The two squared off last season at the Carolina Classic as the Eagles won 6-1 and have won three straight in the series. The Spartans are off to a good start at 12-7 and have five straight, including a 6-3 win over North Carolina on Wednesday. Emily Acquaviva leads the team with a .367 average and tied for the team lead in runs with 12. There are foul players with 10 or more RBI led by Jordan Gontram's 14, Gabrielle Cubbage has 11 and Racheal McClaskey and Maris Sholtes each have 10. Alicia Bazonski leads the pitching staff as she's started 12 of the 19 games and has a 7-5 record with a 3.33 ERA and 45 strikeouts to 34 walks in 77.2 innings.

TWO EAGLES EARN BIG SOUTH WEEKLY HONORS (Feb. 20)
Winthrop sophomore pitcher Kiley Majette and freshman Ashley Westbrooks earned Big South weekly honors for their performances at the Cougar Classic. Majette was named the Pitcher of the Week after going 3-0 with her first career save and posting a 1.71 ERA. Westbrooks was named the Freshman of the Week as she batted .462 with a run and four RBI and extended her hitting streak to nine games before going 0-for-1 in the final game of the tournament against the Cougars.

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