ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop softball will be back in action this weekend as it heads to Athens, GA for the 12^th Annual Red & Black Showcase hosted by the University of Georgia.

 

Winthrop vs. Buffalo	Friday, Feb. 15, 12 p.m.	Live Stats
Winthrop at #6/10 Georgia	Friday, Feb. 15, 2:30 p.m.	Live Stats / Live Video
Winthrop vs. Buffalo	Saturday, Feb. 16, 9 a.m.	Live Stats
Winthrop at #6/10 Georgia	Saturday, Feb. 16, 11:30 a.m.	Live Stats
Winthrop vs. Omaha	Sunday, Feb. 17, 9 a.m.	Live Stats

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ALL-TIME RECORDS vs. OPPONENTS: 2-1 vs. Buffalo | 2-23 vs. Georgia | 0-0 vs. Nebraska-Omaha
  
RED & BLACK SHOWCASE

• This is the 12^th season for the annual Red & Black Showcase hosted by the University of Georgia
• It is a tournament that gives the Eagles a competitive schedule in the early part of the season
• The Eagles have been going to Athens, GA for 12 straight years in the early part of the season
• This is the 7^th straight year the Eagles are competing in the Red & Black Showcase while they participated in the Annual Georgia Softball Classic the five seasons before that, which takes place the second weekend of the season
• The tournament features a Buffalo team that is 0-5 on the year after opening the season in a competitive field at the Titan Classic in Fullerton, CA
• Omaha also opened up last weekend and is off to an 0-5 start as it also faced strong competition at The Lone Star Collegiate Classic in Conroe, TX
• The host Bulldogs opened last season with a 4-1 record at the Florida Atlantic First Pitch Classic in Boca Raton, FL
• Georgia scored 45 runs in five games with the only loss coming 6-4 to Indiana

GLANCE AT THE EAGLES

• Eagles had a solid start to the season at the Bash In The Boro last weekend in Statesboro, NC going 3-2
• Winthrop's two losses came by a total of three runs
• Senior Keleigh Romine was named the Big South Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 11
• Romine batted .571 and tied for the team-high in hits (8) and RBI (4) as she also had an impressive .714 on-base percentage
• The Eagles scored 6.2 runs per game in the tournament but the offensive generated many scoring opportunities the entire weekend
• Eagles finished with 46 runners left on base in the five games (9.2 per game) as they batted .347 as a team
• Senior Morgan Lowers tied Romine with eight hits on the weekend as Lowers hit safely in all five games
• Lowers also drove in four runs and had three extra base hits
• Junior Tori Walker and senior Blake Wallert also batted over .400 in the first weekend as Walker hit .412 with seven runs and Wallert hit .400 with three runs
• The pitching staff was solid throughout the weekend turning in a team ERA of 2.91 and 42 strikeouts to 13 walks in 33.2 innings
• Romine, Bella Roy and Kiley Majette all earned wins in the circle
• Winthrop's .347 average was 2^nd best among the Big South members in the first weekend
• Eagles were also second for most doubles (8) and home runs (3)
• Romine leads the Big South with a .571 average and along with Lowers ranks 2^nd in hits (8)
• Walker's seven runs on the year are tied for the most in the Big South

HEAD COACH WINDY THEES

• Head coach Windy Thees is in her first year at Winthrop and in her 15^th season as head coach of a collegiate softball program
• Spent five seasons at Georgia State & College compiling a 163-92 record followed by six years at Memphis (172-151) and three seasons at Ole Miss (69-94)
• In her 15 seasons she's compiled an overall record of 407-339 and a record of 244-247 at the helm of a D1 program
• Led Ole Miss to five wins over nationally-ranked opponents that included a 2-0 victory at #1 Florida in 2014
• In 2003 she led Georgia State & College to a runner-up finish in the Division II National Championship
• Thees was a four-year starter at Florida State as both a catcher and second baseman. 

SCHEDULE

• Eagles have 10 opponents that finished in the Top 100 RPI in 2018 and seven in the Top 75
• There are three opponents that made an NCAA Regional, 11 teams that finished in the Top 3 of their respective conference and five of which played in a conference championship game
• Winthrop had two opponents in the preseason Top 10 with Georgia at 6^th and South Carolina tied for 9^th 
• In the latest national polls, Georgia is ranked 6/10 while South Carolina is ranked 12/15
• North Carolina State received 29 votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 while cracking into the Top 25 at 23^rd in the Softball America poll

BIG SOUTH PRESEASON POLL
Winthrop was picked to finish 7^th in the Big South Conference despite returning all but one starter and its entire pitching staff. Longwood was picked to finish first, edging out newcomer USC Upstate by eight votes as the favorite. Radford was picked third followed by Campbell, Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, Winthrop, Hampton and Presbyterian College.
 
UP NEXT
Following the Red & Black Showcase the Eagles will compete a little closer to home when they head to Charlotte, NC next weekend (Feb. 22-24) for the Charlotte First Pitch Classic. Winthrop will open up on Friday, Feb. 22 against Lehigh at 10 a.m. and then face Youngstown State at 12:15 p.m.