ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop softball sits in the middle of the Big South Conference standings and looks to keep pace with the upper half of the league as it hosts Radford this weekend in a three-game series that opens up with a single-game Friday at 5 p.m.

WHERE: Rock Hill, SC (Terry Field)
WHEN: Friday, Mar. 30, 5 p.m. | Saturday, Mar. 31, 1 p.m. (doubleheader)
RECORDS: Winthrop (13-14, 3-3 Big South) | Radford (14-12, 0-3 Big South)
LIVE STATS: Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3
LIVE VIDEO: Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3
FOLLOW: @WUGameDay | @Winthropsoftbal

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS RADFORD

• Winthrop and Radford have faced each other 81 times
• Highlanders lead the all-time series 46-35 as the two teams split their four meetings in 2017
• The regular season three-game series went to Radford 2-1, but the Eagles got revenge in the Big South Tournament with a 5-0 win in an elimination game
• Radford has won seven of the past nine three-game series since 2009

GLANCE AT THE EAGLES

• For the first time in many weeks the Eagles were able to get their midweek games played and they were 1-2
• Eagles are looking to bounce back from their series loss at Campbell as they let the third game and series slip away late
• Ashley Westbrooks leads the team in batting at .337 and is coming off a midweek average of .556 with four runs and three RBI in three games
• Morgan Lowers ended an 11-game hitting streak against Coastal Carolina as she was 2-for-9 with a run during the midweek games
• Lowers is second on the team with a .322 average and third in runs with eight
• Blake Wallert had a good week at the plate going 4-for-10 with three runs and five RBI
• The top two batters for the Eagles through six league games are Sabrina Shroades and Kiley Majette
• Shroades is hitting .571 (4-for-7) while Majette is 4-for-8 and the two have combined for three runs and five RBI
• Lowers leads the everyday starters in average during league play at .333 while Westbrooks is next at .286
• Through six league games the Eagles have scored 22 runs and allowed 22 runs
• Last year Ansley Gilreath made four starts against the Highlanders and was 3-for-8 with two runs, a homerun and two RBI and had an on-base percentage of .455
• Majette was 1-1 in three appearances with a 2.15 ERA and 12 strikeouts to eight walks (13 innings) against Radford last year

GLANCE AT THE HIGHLANDERS

• The Highlanders have dropped five in a row with the last two games being by just a single run
• Radford is just three games into league play as it dropped all three last weekend at Longwood
• Prior to the losing streak Radford had won 4-of-5
• Radford is batting .237 as a team and second in the Big South with a 2.74 ERA (tied with Liberty)
• Marissa Gagliano leads the Highlanders in batting and is third in the Big South with a .423 average
• Gagliano leads the team with 23 runs, six doubles and nine stolen bases
• Talia Douglas and Hunter Mundy lead the team with 15 RBI each
• Radford has given up the fewest home runs in the Big South with only allowing seven through 26 games
• The pitching staff is led by senior Abby Morrow who has made 15 starts and 19 appearances
• Morrow is 9-7 with a 1.64 ERA and 53 strikeouts to just eight walks in 107.0 innings
• Kayla Huffman has made six starts and 12 appearances and is 4-3 with a 2.89 ERA and 38 strikeouts to 12 walks
• The staff ranks 17^th nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio and Morrow ranks 16^th
• Against the Eagles last season, Hannah Medlam, Mundy and Gagliano combined to go 14-for-40 with six runs, four doubles, three home runs and six RBI in four meetings

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 763-802-3 at Winthrop and 847-851-3 in his career
• He is the Big South Conference's all-time leader in victories (763), conference wins (214), and conference tournament victories (53)
• 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 314, which ranks 7^th on the all-time list
• In the first game against Coastal Carolina, Blake Wallert played in her 100^th game and is 11 starts shy of 100

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
After this weekend's series with Radford the Eagles will step away from league play for a doubleheader at Furman on Tuesday, Apr. 3 at 4 p.m.