ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop softball will have another competitive weekend as it takes on USC Upstate, Furman and Marshall on the road in the Spartan Classic Feb. 24-25.
| Winthrop at USC Upstate |
Saturday, Feb. 24, 1 p.m. |
Live Stats |
| Winthrop at USC Upstate |
Saturday, Feb. 24, 3 p.m. |
Live Stats |
| Winthrop vs. Marshall |
Sunday, Feb. 25, 12 p.m. |
Live Stats |
| Winthrop at Furman |
Sunday, Feb. 25, 2:30 p.m. |
Live Stats |
ALL-TIME RECORDS vs. OPPONENTS: 11-4 vs. USC Upstate (9-0)
| 4-5 vs. Marshall (4-5) | 31-32 vs. Furman (8-3)
A LOOK BACK AT OPENING WEEKEND
- The Eagles opened the season last weekend at the Red & Black Showcase hosted by the University of Georgia
- Winthrop opened the season with a 4-3 win over Evansville as it scored two runs in the top of the seventh after falling behind 3-2 in the sixth
- Kiley Majette tossed a no-hitter in the 6-0 win over Samford as she walked just one batter and had six strikeouts
- Morgan Lowers was 8-for-15 on the weekend with three of her hits going for doubles while Ansley Gilreath led the team with 3 RBI
SPARTAN CLASSIC
- The Spartan Classic will take place in two different locations for the Eagles this weekend as they'll take on USC Upstate in Spartanburg, SC and then travel to Greenville, SC to take on Marshall and Furman on the campus of Furman University
- The Eagles will face USC Upstate in a doubleheader on Saturday while playing single-games on Sunday vs. Marshall and Furman
- The Spartans received votes in both national polls this past week
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Eagles have their first 4-1 start to a season since 2004
- Not only did Lowers swing a hot bat in Athens, GA last weekend but she extended her hitting streak to 11 games dating back to last season, which ties her career-high
- Blake Wallert is also off to a good start at the plate as she was 3-for-8 (.375)
- Majette not only tossed a no-hitter last weekend but was solid in all three of her appearances and is 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA
- The Eagle offense was balanced on the first weekend as eight different players recorded an RBI
- Freshmen Logan Webb and Makenzye Whitman drove in their first career runs while sophomore Tori Walker drove in her first run as an Eagle
HEAD COACH MARK COOKE
- Head coach Mark Cooke is in his 34th season overall and 29th year at Winthrop
- Cooke announced this will be his final season coaching as he enters the year with a record of 754-789-3 at Winthrop and 838-838-3 in his career
- He is the Big South Conference's all-time leader in victories, conference wins, and conference tournament victories
- During his tenure the Eagles have won four Big South Tournament titles and four Big South regular season championships
- Cooke has led his team to 11 Big South Conference Tournament Title games (tied with Coastal Carolina's Jess Dannelly for the most by any coach in league history)
- Voted Big South Coach of the Year in 2005, 2007 and 2008
- He guided the 2007 squad to a program record 50 wins and is one of only two teams in the history of the Big South to win 50 games in a single-season
SCHEDULE
- Eagles will have 18 contests against teams that finished in the Top 125 of RPI in 2017, 12 in the Top 100, 11 in the Top 75, eight in the Top 50 and four in the Top 25
- Seven opponents on the slate this year competed in an NCAA Regional in 2017
- There are 26 different opponents on the schedule and 14 of them had a winning record in 2017 (15 were .500 or better)
- Seven of the opponents finished with 30 or more wins and four had 40 or more wins
BIG SOUTH PRESEASON POLL
Winthrop was picked to finish sixth in the annual preseason poll, despite returning eight starters and all four pitchers from the 2017 team that finished 5
th in the league. Longwood was voted to win the league, receiving 5-of-8 first place votes, followed by Liberty, Campbell, Charleston Southern, Radford, Winthrop, Presbyterian College and Gardner-Webb.
