ROCK HILL, S.C. - Winthrop baseball (14-16, 7-2 Big South Conference) continues a nine-game road stretch this weekend, taking on conference foe Gardner-Webb (17-14, 4-5 Big South Conference) in a three-game series Friday through Sunday.

     

Winthrop (14-16, 7-2) vs. Gardner-Webb (17-14, 4-5) – Boiling Springs, N.C., John Henry Moss Stadium
Date	Friday, April 6	Saturday, April 7	Sunday, April 8
First Pitch	7 p.m. ET	2 p.m. ET	2 p.m. ET
Live Stats	Click here	Click here	Click here
TV/Live Stream	ESPN3	N/A	Big South Network
Get Tickets	Click here

 






 


PROBABLE ROTATION
Winthrop:
Friday Game 1 – RHP Nate Pawelczyk (3-3, 3.60 ERA)
Saturday Game 2 – RHP Zach Peek (3-3, 4.96 ERA)
Sunday Game 3 – TBA

Gardner-Webb:
Friday Game 1 – RHP Langdon Wilson (0-0, 4.58 ERA)
Saturday Game 2 – RHP Bradley Hallman (4-1, 3.43 ERA)
Sunday Game 3 – RHP Mason Fox (3-3, 4.91 ERA

LAST MEETING/A LOOK AT GWU
Winthrop swept the 2017 series with the Runnin' Bulldogs at The Winthrop Ballpark, but they weren't runaway victories- 7-6, 3-1, 3-1.

Gardner-Webb took a series sweep at Radford last weekend, rebounding from starting Big South play with series losses to Liberty and Campbell. The squad also posted midweek wins over ACC power North Carolina and nearby Wofford.
 
TEAM SNAPSHOT
Winthrop is hitting .263 (261-for-991) as a team with a .349 on base percentage. The Eagles have recorded 34 errors as a squad, retaining a .969 fielding percentage overall.

Winthrop opened conference play on a 6-0 streak and suffered its first setback on the road at High Point last weekend. In its first six conference games, Winthrop recorded double-digit hits in five of six (and posted nine in the sixth game), winning all six games. In the series at High Point, the Eagles belted just a combined five hits in the first two games, both losses, but bounced back for 11 hits and 11 runs and a victory in game three.

Winthrop is 9-4 when recording double-digit hits and 5-12 when failing to record 10 or more hits.

The Winthrop pitching staff leads the Big South in conference games with an ERA of 4.22. Offensively, the team is tied for second in the conference in league games with a .304 batting average.

The Eagles have struggled on the road this season with a 2-12 record away from home, but both wins have come in the past week in game three at High Point and a midweek contest at The Citadel.
 
PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS
-Senior Mitch Spires leads the Eagles with 37 hits, nine of which are doubles, which is tied for third in the Big South Conference. Spires also leads Winthrop with 10 multiple-hit games, including a team-high four games with three hits. The senior shortstop has at least one RBI in 11 of the last 14 games.

-Junior infielder Grant English had a breakout series against Longwood, including a career-high five hits and five RBI in the series finale, and is hitting .483 (14-for-29) in conference play. English is leading the Eagles with a .322 average which is ninth overall in the Big South. English was named Big South Player of the Week this week (Mar. 26) for his efforts.

-Junior infielder Jake Sullivan has reached base in 12-straight games, a team-high streak, and has belted at least one double and recorded at least one RBI in two-consecutive games.

-Junior RHP Nate Pawelczyk is allowing an opposing batting average of just .189, the best in the Big South Conference. Pawelczyk is second in the league in innings pitched (45.0), behind only fellow Eagle Zach Peek (45.1), and sixth in ERA (3.60). Of the 30 hits the Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year has given up so far this season, none have been triples and only one has been a home run.
 
-Sophomore RHP Zach Peek leads the team and the Big South Conference in strikeouts with 55 on the season, and was the first pitcher in the league to surpass the 50 mark. With nine strikeouts at ETSU, he fell just one short of having three-straight games with double-digit strikeouts (10 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore, 12 vs. Kent State.) Peek was named Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 26 after hurling a complete game shutout, the first of his career and the only one in the league so far this season, against Longwood.

-The Eagles have been without junior outfielder Matthew Mulkey since game one against Longwood on Fri., Mar. 23. Mulkey leads the Eagles in RBI (22), slugging percentage (.595), on-base percentage (.389), home runs (5) and is third on the squad in hits (24).
 
PRESEASON FAVORITES
Winthrop has been predicted to win the Big South Conference by the league's coaches and D1Baseball.com. 

UP NEXT
The Eagles wrap up their nine-game road stretch at Furman on Tues., Apr. 10 at 6 p.m. then host Radford in Big South play for a three-game series at The Winthrop Ballpark, Fri.-Sun., Apr. 13-15.
 
27^th EAGLE CLUB SCHOLARSHIP AUCTION (APR. 14)
The 27^th Eagle Club Scholarship Auction is right around the corner and there is still time to get your tickets for this great event. The event will take place on Sat., Apr. 14 at 6 p.m. inside the Winthrop Coliseum. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with the silent auction beginning at 6 p.m. followed by dinner and the live auction starting at approximately 8 p.m. For more information contact Taryn Moreno, coordinator for the Eagle Club (803-323-2129, ext. 3067 or morenot@winthrop.edu) or visit www.winthropeagles.com/auction.