ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop softball opens Big South Conference play this weekend when it hosts Presbyterian College, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
GAME SNAPSHOT
Winthrop (11-14, 0-0 BSC) vs. Presbyterian College (10-15, 0-0 BSC)
Site: Rock Hill, SC (Terry Field)
Game 1: Saturday, Mar. 18, 1 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, Mar. 18, 3 p.m. (approx.)
Game 3: Sunday, Mar. 19, 1 p.m.
Live Stats: Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3
Live Video: none

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE
Winthrop and Presbyterian College have met 27 times as the Blue Hose lead the series 15-12. Winthrop has dropped four straight to PC and the Blue Hose have won four of the last six meetings in Rock Hill.

BIG SOUTH OPENERS/SERIES HISTORY
Since 2002 the Eagles are 9-6 in Big South openers. Last season the Eagles were swept by Liberty on the road. In 2015 the Eagles opened up league play at home with a 4-2 win over Longwood.

A GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
Winthrop is looking to end a six-game losing streak that includes three one-run losses, including this past Wednesday at #8 Alabama 1-0. Co-head coach Mark Cooke has been pleased with the way the team has competed but haven't been able to turn that into wins during the losing streak. So far this season the Eagles are 5-4 at home with three of the losses against DePaul. The Eagles are batting .258 as a team, which ranks fourth in the Big South and is second in pitching with a 3.30 ERA. Maddie Antone leads the offense with a .415 average as she's second on the team with 12 runs, leads the team with 18 RBI and has 10 extra base hits. Freshman Ashley Westbrooks is second on the team with a .322 average as she has six runs and nine RBI. Leah Young is second on the team with 14 RBI. The Eagles have two other starters batting .300 or better in Brooke Ellison (.317) and Paige Haley (.315). Sophomore's Kiley Majette and Keleigh Romine and freshmen Sabrina Shroades and Madyson Watson have put in a full team effort to produce the league's second best ERA. Majette has the most starts with 11 starts (15 appearances) Romine has nine starts and 12 appearances. Shroades has just one start but seven appearances and is 2-1 with a 2.50 ERA. Watson has eight appearances and four starts. All four pitchers have at least 27.1 innings on the year as Majette has the most with 60.2.

A GLANCE AT THE BLUE HOSE
PC is coming off a 4-2 win over Appalachian State on Thursday at home as it split a doubleheader. Hope Rogers was 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI in the win. Rogers leads the team with a .311 average, 14 runs, five doubles, four triples and 15 RBI. Catcher Regekka Gross is second on the team with a .310 average. Blaire Miller is second on the team in RBI with 12 and Megan Anderson is third with 10. The Blue Hose are 2-3 over the last five games with the other win coming against Fairleigh Dickinson. On the season PC is 2-7 on the road with those two wins coming at South Carolina State and Furman. Just like the Eagles, PC has used four pitchers led by Katie Brown with a team-high 12 starts and 58 innings while Kaylee Allen has seven starts (13 appearances) and has tossed 47.1 innings.
 
PC PLAYERS TO WATCH
HITTERS
Hope Rogers, Sr., SS (.311 avg, 14 runs, 23 hits, 5 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBI)
Megan Anderson, So., IF/DP (.290 avg, 3 runs, 10 RBI, .425 on-base percentage)
PITCHERS
Katie Brown, Sr., RHP (5-6, 4.71 ERA, 58 IP, 26 strikeouts, 27 walks)
Kaylee Allen, Jr., RHP (3-3, 4.29 ERA, 47.1 IP, 29 strikeouts, 17 walks)
  
WHAT'S ON DECK FOR THE EAGLES?
The Eagles will continue their Big South schedule as they head to Boiling Springs, NC to face Gardner-Webb on Wednesday, Mar. 22 in a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m.

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 years.