Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop baseball entered the 2020 season coming off a Big South Championship appearance and picked up right where they left off. The Eagles posted an 11-4 record, finishing at the top of the Big South standings with its best start under head coach Tom Riginos. Unfortunately, the spread of COVID-19 ended their season prematurely.
The Eagles started the season 8-0 with series sweeps over Maine and Canisius College and a midweek win over Davidson. Winthrop dropped the Kent State series two games to one, before hitting the road and winning 2-of-3 against George Mason. Winthrop played its last game of the season at Clemson, ultimately losing the contest in 11 innings, 3-2.
Two of Winthrop's 11 wins were won in walk-off fashion. On Feb. 21 against Canisius, Winthrop trailed 5-0 entering the bottom of the eighth inning before scoring two in the eighth and three in the ninth to tie the game at five. An 11th-inning single off the bat of Andrew Jenner gave the Eagles the thrilling 6-5 win. A few weeks later, Winthrop secured its lone win over Kent State with another walk-off single, this time in the bottom of the ninth off the bat of Dillon Morton.
Senior Scout McFalls led the Eagles with his .375 batting average, third best in the Big South. Junior Dillon Morton and Andrew Jenner were ranked fifth and sixth in the conference batting .362 each. For the week of March 2, Jenner earned Big South Freshman of the Week honors. The team posted a .284 overall batting average for third best in the Big South.
Winthrop's pitching staff posted a conference best 2.79 ERA over 15 games. Jason Crumley and Daniel Blair led the team in strikeouts, each recording 19. Crumley posted an impressive 1.93 ERA in 14 innings pitched, making seven appearances. Blair made four starts, logging 17 innings pitched with a 4.67 ERA and a 1-2 record. Fellow starter Tyler Jones finished the season ranked 5th in the conference with his 2.25 ERA in 16 innings; Thad Harris finishes within the Top 10 in the Big South with a 2.95 ERA in 18 innings pitched.
Colten Rendon, 2017 Big South Freshman of the Year, has had an impressive career. The senior finishes the 2020 season tied for 1st in the conference with four saves in seven appearances. Rendon cracks the Top 30 in NCAA Division 1 in his career at 16th in fewest walks per nine innings (1.65), 27th in victories (15) and 29th in saves (13). Rendon has also secured his spot in Winthrop baseball history, finishing 4th in fewest walks per nine innings and saves. He was named to the Big South All-Conference First Team in 2017 and 2019 and earned Reliever of the Week honors for three consecutive weeks from May 6, 13 and 19 during the 2019 season. In 2017, he finished at the top of the conference in a three-way tie in wins (7) and was the conference saves leader in 2019 with nine.
Fellow senior pitcher Thad Harris also cracks the Top 30 in the NCAA at No. 16 in innings pitched (227.3) and No. 20 in games started (36).
Senior catcher Spencer Yankle earned national recognition prior to the 2020 season. D1baseball.com named Yankle the 29th best catcher in America. Yankle finishes the 2020 season in the Top 10 in the conference in batting average (.339), slugging percentage (.508), RBIs (14) and hits per game (1.33). His 2019 season earned him All-Conference Second Team honors. He led the Eagles with 72 hits, including 15 multi-hit games, with a .326 batting average. Behind the plate, he threw out three base stealers and posted a .987 fielding percentage.
The remaining seniors on the team include Joe McNamara, Jason Crumley, Turner Scruggs, Tyler Baker and graduate students Cale Gibson and Andrew Coker. The senior class won 104 games over the last four seasons, winning the regular season in 2017 and making a Big South Championship appearance in 2019.
Big things and more wins are coming for Winthrop baseball, who is expected to return most of the 2020 squad.
