Rock Hill, S.C.— After nine days without a game the Winthrop softball team is back on the field this weekend as it travels to the nation's capital for the Bluff and Blue Challenge at George Washington.
 
Game Info: Buff & Blue Challenge | Washington D.C. | Mar. 6-8, 2020 | GW Mount Vernon Campus (GW Softball Field)
Stats: Winthrop | Monmouth | George Washington | Rider
Social: @Winthropsoftbal | #ROCKtheHILL | #EverStand

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, Mar. 6
Winthrop vs. Monmouth, 12 p.m. | Live Stats 
Winthrop at George Washington, 2 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+

Saturday, Mar. 7
Winthrop vs. Monmouth, 9 a.m. | Live Stats 
Winthrop vs. Rider, 11 a.m. | Live Stats 
 
Sunday, Mar. 8
Winthrop vs. Rider, 10 a.m. | Live Stats 

WINTHROP EAGLES
Record: 9-8
Coach: Windy Thees
Career Record/Years: 443-370/16^th season
 
MONMOUTH HAWKS
Record: 9-6
Coach: Shannon Salsburg
Career Record/Years: 327-324-1/14^th season
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON COLONIALS
Record: 5-12
Coach: Jim Clift
Career Record/Years: 258-351-2/12^th season
 
RIDER BRONCS
Record: 0-9
Coach: Devon Ortega
Career Record/Years: 189-233/10^th season
 
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES

• Taylor Charlton and Ansley Gilreath are two of nine players in the Big South batting .400 or better
• Charlton leads the team at .412 and Gilreath is hitting .404
• As a team the Eagles are batting .277 and scoring 5.4 runs per game
• Charlton also leads the team in RBI with 14 followed by Ashley Westbrooks with 13
• Gilreath and Tori Walker are tied for 3^rd on the team with 11 RBI
• Westbrooks leads the team with 14 runs while Walker has 12
• Madyson Watson leads the pitching staff with a 5-3 record as she has a 3.57 ERA and 47 strikeouts to 12 walks in 47 innings of work
• Aisha Weixlmann is 3-1 with a 2.86 ERA and 44 strikeouts to 13 walks in 36.2 innings of work

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 443-370 and a record of 280-278 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

RECORD BOOK WATCH

• Senior Ashley Westbrooks is inking her name into several All-Time Top 10 categories in program history
• After the doubleheader at Western Carolina, Westbrooks now has 107 in her career which ranks 8^th all-time
• She is just three RBI away from 7^th place
• Westbrooks is tied for 15^th on the all-time hit list with 168
• At the Green & White Classic she reached 30 career doubles and now has 33, ranking 9^th all-time
• She is also tied for 8^th in career home runs with 19
• Ansley Gilreath is moving up the all-time RBI list and reached 100 career hits recently (108)
• Gilreath has 74 RBI in her career and looks to become the 19^th Winthrop player to reach 80 in a career

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)
• South Carolina, who the Eagles meet on Mar. 11, is ranked 15^th in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and 17^th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll
• Clemson, who the Eagles travel to on April 15, received 10 votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll

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
Following their weekend in D.C. the Eagles will have a midweek contest at South Carolina on Wednesday, Mar. 11 at 6 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.