Rock Hill, S.C. — Winthrop combined for 12 extra base hits including five homeruns to earn a doubleheader sweep of South Carolina State, Wednesday afternoon in non-conference softball action. Winthrop took the first game 5-2 and got the bats going in the nightcap with a 13-1 win in five innings.
GAME INFORMATION
RECORDS: Winthrop (25-22, 10-8 Big South) | South Carolina State (4-22, 3-10 MEAC)
WINTHROP LEADERS: Kaitlyn Tucker (5-for-6, 3- 2B, 3B, HR, 4RBI, 2.167 slugging percentage) |
Ashley Westbrooks (3-for-6, 3R, 2B, HR, RBI)
WHAT HAPPENED
Game 1
- Eagles had runners in scoring position in the first two innings but were unable to take advantage
- The Bulldogs struck first when Kat Coe walked with one out and then scored as Daisha Simon tripled in the top of the fourth
- Eagles did strike back in the bottom of the fourth as Taylor Charlton and Madyson Watson reached after getting hit and then with two outs Kaitlyn Tucker doubled to left center to score Charlton and tie the game
- S.C. State came right back to take the lead in the top of the fifth thanks to three straight singles with one out as Alst Jenkins plated Kyla Reeves on a single to left
- Ashton Vanhouse tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth when she scored on a fielding error with one out
- Eagles weren't done as Bailey Warren singled followed by a double from Ashley Westbrooks
- Charlton stood in and hit a three-run homer for the 5-2 advantage
- Watson allowed two runs on eight hits with a walk and five strikeouts for her 15th win of the season
Game 2
- Eagles jumped on the Bulldogs in the bottom of the first with three homeruns
- With one away, Warren and Westbrooks hit back-to-back solo homeruns for a 2-0 lead
- Three batters later Tucker hit a two-run homerun to right center to double the lead at 4-0
- Tucker doubled down the line to lead off the bottom of the fourth and Lauren King followed with homerun to center for a 6-0 lead
- After back-to-back ground outs, the Eagles got the bats going again and added six more runs for a 12-0 lead
- Ansley Gilreath had a two-run double followed by an RBI double from Tucker and an RBI single from King
- Makayla Cyzick capped off the nine-run inning with a pinch-hit RBI single through the right side
- Mackenzie Smith tossed five innings allowing one run on two hits with two walks and three strikeouts to earn her first collegiate victory in the circle
EXTRA BASES
- McCall is now tied for 10th in Big South Conference history for steals in a single-season with 41
- Westbrooks homerun in the bottom of the first of game two was the 200th hit of her career
- Westbrooks is now the 9th player in program history with 200 or more career hits
- Tucker extended her hitting streak to six games, had five extra base hits on the day and even doubled twice in the bottom of the fourth inning of game two
- Tucker had a double and a triple in game one and is the first Eagle with both in the same game since Morgan Lowers had two triples and a double on Feb. 17, 2019 vs. Omaha
- As a team the Eagles hit four homeruns in the second game, their first four homerun game since Apr. 18, 2014 in an 11-0 win at Liberty
- Warren pushed her streak of reaching base to eight straight games
- Eagles have now won eight of their last nine home games
ON DECK
Winthrop is off the rest of the week and will return to action on Tuesday, Apr. 27 when it hosts Coastal Carolina for a doubleheader at 2 p.m.
