Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop softball opens its 2020 home slate by hosting the Winthrop Tournament Feb. 14-16 as it opens up Friday against Eastern Kentucky and Virginia.
 

Winthrop vs. Eastern Kentucky	Friday, Feb. 14, 3 p.m.	Live Stats / ESPN+
Winthrop vs. Virginia	Friday, Feb. 14, 5:30 p.m.	Live Stats / ESPN+
Winthrop vs. Georgetown	Saturday, Feb. 15, 3 p.m.	Live Stats / ESPN+
Winthrop vs. Holy Cross	Saturday, Feb. 15, 5:30 p.m.	Live Stats / ESPN+
Winthrop vs. Towson	Sunday, Feb. 16, 12 p.m.	Live Stats / ESPN+

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ALL-TIME RECORDS vs. OPPONENTS: 2-3 vs. Eastern Kentucky | 5-7 vs. Virginia | First meeting vs. Georgetown | 1-0 vs. Holy Cross | 5-8 vs. Towson
 
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES

• Eagles opened the season at the Samford Tournament last weekend
• Opened the season with a 5-3 win over Akron
• Ansley Gilreath is off to a good start at the plate batting a team-best .583 with 3 runs, two doubles, two home runs and five RBI
• Taylor Charlton started three games and has appeared in five as she's batting .400 with four RBI
• Ashley Westbrooks is closing in on 100 career RBI with 95 currently and is currently 20^th all-time in program history with 155 hits
• So far this season she's batting .333 with three runs
• As a team the Eagles batted .333 with runners in scoring position last weekend
• Bella Roy had a solid opening weekend as she made one start and had three appearances
• Roy is 1-0 with a 0.66 ERA with 16 strikeouts to six walks in 10.2 innings
• Madyson Watson was also strong in the opening weekend with a 1-1 record and 1.50 ERA to go along with 15 strikeouts to four walks in 14.0 innings

HEAD COACH WINDY THEES

• Head coach Windy Thees is in her second at Winthrop and in her 16^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 16 seasons she's compiled an overall record of 436-365 and a record of 273-273 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 seven opponents on the schedule this season that finished in the Top 100 RPI in 2019
• There are four opponents this season that played in the NCAA Regionals last year
• Eight teams the Eagles face finished in the Top 3 of their respective leagues last year and five of them played for a conference championship
• Winthrop has 22 non-conference opponents schedule with just three matchups against teams for the first time (Clemson/Georgetown/Army)

BIG SOUTH PRESEASON POLL
Winthrop was picked 4^th in the Big South Conference preseason poll, three votes behind Campbell in third. Longwood received eight of nine first-place votes followed by USC Upstate which received one first-place vote. Following the Eagles in the poll were Radford, Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, Hampton, and Presbyterian College. Winthrop finished fourth last season at 14-10 while Campbell finished a half-game ahead at 14-9.
 
UP NEXT
After the Eagles host the tournament this weekend they'll be in action midweek for the first time this season when they head to Greensboro, NC on Wednesday, Feb. 19 to take on North Carolina A&T at 3 p.m.

For everything Winthrop softball visit www.winthropeagles.com or follow us on social media @Winthropsoftbal, winthropsoftball (Instagram) or www.facebook.com/Winthrop-Softball.