SPARTANBURG, S.C./COLUMBIA, S.C. - Winthrop baseball stays on the road for two midweek contests against in-state foes USC Upstate and South Carolina this week.

  

Winthrop (0-3) at USC Upstate (1-2-1) - Spartanburg
Date	Tues., Feb. 20
First Pitch	4 p.m.
Live Stats	UpstateSpartans.com
TV/Live Stream	Upstate Athletics Facebook
Game Notes	Click Here

 






 
 

 

Winthrop (0-3) at South Carolina (2-1) - Columbia
Date	Weds., Feb. 21
First Pitch	4 p.m.
Live Stats	GamecocksOnline.com
TV/Live Stream	SEC Network+
Game Notes	(Updated after 2/20)

PROJECTED STARTERS
Tuesday – RHP Daniel Willcutt (0-0, 3.00 ERA)
 Wednesday – LHP Riley Arnone (0-0, 7.71 ERA)


TAKING ON THE SPARTANS
This will be the fifth all-time meeting between Winthrop and USC Upstate, though more frequent meetings are on the horizon with the Spartans poised to become members of the Big South Conference for the 2018-19 season. The series is currently an even split, 2-2.

USC Upstate went 1-2-1 during the opening weekend. The Spartans defeated Dayton 10-8 on Friday and were swept by No. 8 Kentucky in a doubleheader on Saturday. On Sunday, USC Upstate and Fordham finished deadlocked at 4-4 due to a travel curfew for the Rams.
 
BATTLE OF THE BIRDS
This will be the 24^th time the Eagles take on the Gamecocks, the most of any SEC school. South Carolina owns a 17-6 edge in the series. South Carolina opened the season with a 2-1 series win over VMI.
 
PRESEASON FAVORITES
Winthrop heads into the 2018 season after being predicted to win the Big South Conference by the league's coaches and D1Baseball.com. 

EXPERIENCE RETURNING
Winthrop returns eight of its top 10 batters from 2017, including Mitch Spires who led the Eagles in batting average (.345), hits (76) and runs (49). 2017 RBI-leader (60) Hunter Lipscomb also returns. Lipscomb's .292 average was good for third on last year's squad. 

Winthrop lost only one pitcher who took the mound for 10 or more appearances in 2017, returning seven of its top eight pitchers. The Eagles boast two pitchers named Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year by various publications, Nate Pawelczyk and Zach Peek.

Junior Nate Pawelczyk was voted Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year by the league's coaches and D1Baseball.com. Pawelczyk was a 2017 First-Team All-Big South honoree, ranked first in the league with a 2.23 ERA, first in the league with seven wins, first in the league in opponent batting average (.192), first in the league in runs allowed with 23, second in the league in earned runs with 19, third in the league in hits allowed with 53, led the team in strikeouts with 69, third on the team in innings pitched (76.2) and starts (11). 

Sophomore Zach Peek (2017: 5-1, 3.70 ERA) was also named Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year by Perfect Game. Peek is ranked 49th overall in PG USA Top 100 draft prospects for 2019. The Eagles also return 2017 Big South Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American Colten Rendon (2017: 7-5, 4.19 ERA) on the mound. Rendon was second on the team in innings pitched (86.0) in 2017.