ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop softball looks to build off its good start to conference play as it hits the road to take on Campbell in a three-game series starting with a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
WHERE: Buies Creek, NC (Amanda Littlejohn Stadium / 400)
WHEN: Saturday, Mar. 24, 1/3 p.m. (doubleheader) | Sunday, Mar. 25, 1:30 p.m.
RECORDS: Winthrop (11-10, 2-1 Big South) | Campbell (12-16, 2-4 Big South)
LIVE STATS: Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3
LIVE VIDEO: Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3
FOLLOW: @WUGameDay | @Winthropsoftbal 
 
SERIES HISTORY

• Winthrop and Campbell have met 53 times with the Eagles leading the all-time series 35-18
• The two teams squared off four times in 2017 with the Camels sweeping the regular season series and the Eagles capturing a 13-5 win in the Big South Tournament
• The Camels have swept the last two three-game series, including last year's in Rock Hill as they outscored the Eagles 26-9
• Since the Camels came back to the Big South in 2012 the Eagles are 8-14

 
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES

• For the third time in four weeks, the Eagles had their midweek contest(s) rained out or postponed due to poor weather conditions
• Winthrop opened league play with a series win over Charleston Southern last weekend
• Coach Mark Cooke received numerous contributions as seven different players had at least one RBI and 13 different players made starts as the team continued to deal with injuries
• Ashley Westbrooks had a good weekend at the plate going 6-for-11 with three runs and two RBI
• Westbrooks leads the team with a .358 average as well as a team-best 10 runs and 12 RBI
• Freshman Jesse Burleson had two big hits in the series with the Bucs as she provided a two-run home run in the series opener for insurance in a 6-3 win (just her second career start)
• In game two of the series she provided pinch-hit two-run single as part of a 4-run fourth inning as the Eagles rallied from a 4-0 deficit
• Morgan Lowers currently has an eight-game hitting streak and is second on the team with a .338 average
• The Eagles rank 3^rd in the league in team ERA (2.75), just .01 behind Radford
• The staff has combined for the second fewest walks in the Big South and is third in total strikeouts
• Winthrop's pitching held the Bucs (entered the series 2^nd in the league in batting) to a .267 average and to just 4-for-30 with runners in scoring position
• Winthrop finished the series with the Bucs 10-for-26 with RISP
• Kiley Majette leads the pitching staff at 6-5 with a 2.17 ERA and 65 strikeouts to 13 walks
• Sabrina Shroades as a team-best 1.88 ERA as she's 2-2
• Winthrop is currently 101 in the NCAA RPI, which ranks third among teams in the Big South

GLANCE AT THE CAMELS

• Camels have lost four in a row as they dropped all three games at Liberty last weekend (8-0 / 4-3 / 10-3)
• Campbell opened league play with wins of 11-8 and 8-4 over Gardner-Webb before dropping the final game of the series 12-9
• The team ranks 5^th in the league in batting average at .249 and 4^th in total runs
• Rachel McCollum leads the team with 12 home runs (T-4^th nationally) as the Camels are second in the Big South with 30, which ranks 18^th nationally (1.07 per game)
• McCollum hit 16 home runs as a freshman with 46 RBI and is on pace to better that with 12 home runs and 35 RBI through 28 games
• McCollum leads the team with a .395 average while Caroline Smith is second on the team with a .302 average
• In six league games McCollum has batted .438 with seven runs, four home runs and six RBI
• Megan Mizingo has the 2^nd best average in league play at .368 with two runs, four RBI and two stolen bases

HEAD COACH MARK COOKE

• Head coach Mark Cooke is in his 34^th season overall and 29^th year at Winthrop
• Cooke announced this will be his final season coaching as he enters the year with a record of 761-798-3 at Winthrop and 845-847-3 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

2018 PLAYER HONORS/MILESTONES

• Kiley Majette was named the Big South Pitcher of the Week after the opening weekend for the Eagles and this past week for a second time this season
• Majette tossed her second no-hitter of the season and didn't allow a run in 16 innings pitched during the Winthrop/adidas Tournament
• For her first weekly honor she was 2-0 in three appearances that included a no-hitter against Samford
• It was the first no-hitter in the program since Kelli Johnson had one on Apr. 21, 2005 against Furman
• Majette reached 300 strikeouts in her career and now has 307, which ranks 7^th on the all-time list

2018 SCHEDULE

• Eagles have 18 contests scheduled 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.
 
ON DECK
Eagles step away from league play with a doubleheader against Coastal Carolina on Tuesday, Mar. 27 at 2 p.m. and then will host North Carolina on Wednesday, Mar. 28 at 6 p.m.