Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop softball is back in action Feb. 25-27 as it travels to the Dixie State Tournament. Eagles open play on Friday, Feb. 25 against Weber State.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE (Winthrop)
Tournament Info: Dixie State Tournament | St. George, Utah | Feb. 25-27, 2022 |
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Tournament Central | Participating Teams: Dixie State, Nevada, Utah Valley, Weber State, Winthrop
Friday, Feb. 25 (Karl Brooks Field)
Winthrop vs. Weber State, 2:30 p.m. |
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Saturday, Feb. 26 (Karl Brooks Field)
Winthrop vs. Utah Valley, 5 p.m.|
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Winthrop at Dixie State, 7:30 p.m.|
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Sunday, Feb. 27 (Karl Brooks Field)
Winthrop vs. Utah Valley, 2 p.m. |
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Winthrop at Dixie State, 4:30 p.m. |
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GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Coming off their home tournament last weekend in which the team its first win on the season, 10-1 over Youngstown State
- There were four Eagles that had two RBI in the game (Lauren King, Kaitlyn Tucker, Bailey Warren and Courtney Cygan
- It was Cygan's first RBI of the season
- Paige Rivas leads the team with a .304 average and is second in runs
- Macy McCall is batting .241 and leads the team with four RBI, nine runs and nine stolen bases
- As a team the Eagles are drawing 3.9 walks per game as Lauren King leads the way with six and at least eight players have three or more
- Ashton Vanhouse has the team's top current hit streak at three games while King has the top streak for reaching base at seven straight
- McCall has reached in six straight and Lauren Daniels has a streak of four straight reaching base
- Eagles are coming off a 26-24 campaign in which the team won six out of the final eight games of 2021
- In 2021 the Eagles as a team finished with the 4th most homeruns (49) and stolen bases (88) in a single-season in program history
- The team set the program single-season mark for hit-by-pitch and the 5th best on-base percentage
- Return 12 players from last year's team while welcoming nine newcomers
- Among the departed are Big South All-Conference performers Ansley Gilreath, Ashley Westbrooks and Madyson Watson
- Westbrooks and Gilreath combined for 67 doubles, 59 homeruns, 251 RBI and 135 walks in their careers
- Watson was the ace in the pitching circle and also did damage at the plate with 17 runs, seven homeruns, and an on-base percentage of .354
- Also gone is catcher Taylor Charlton, who batted .283 with 12 homeruns and 31 RBI
- One of the top returning players is junior Macy McCall, who set the program record for stolen bases in a season with 48
- Her 48 stolen bases were also ranked 2nd in the nation (NCAA D1)
- McCall led the Big South Conference in runs with 43 and her .362 average was second-best in the league
- Other returning starters include Kaitlyn Tucker, Lauren King, and Bailey Warren
- Tucker was 1-of-3 players on the team in 2021 to appear in all 50 games (49 starts) as she made 48 starts at short
- King made 27 starts at second, 16 at third and was 1-of-5 players with 21 or more RBI (21)
- Warren spread out her 44 starts between catcher, left field, right field and the designated player
- Tucker and Warren were both named to the Big South All-Freshman Team
- Warren was second behind McCall in stolen bases with 14 (14-for-15)
- The Eagles were voted 4th in the Big South Conference Preseason Poll
HEAD COACH WINDY THEES
- Head coach Windy Thees is in her third season at Winthrop and in her 17th 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 17 seasons she's compiled an overall record of 472-404 and a record of 310-314 at the helm of a D1 program
- In her first season with the Eagles the team earned 30 wins, which are the second-most for a first-year head coach in program history
- In her first season she also guided the team to the Big South Conference Tournament Championship game, falling in the if necessary game to Longwood
- 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
NEW FACES
RECORD BOOK WATCH
- McCall's single-season record of 46 stolen bases in her first year with the Eagles puts her tied for 6th all-time in program history
- McCall now has 55 career stolen bases as an Eagle
- The program record for stolen bases is 71 by Charlene Smith (1989-92)
- If McCall can match her run total of 43 from last season, she'll pull within 25 runs of the program's all-time Top 10
UP NEXT
Winthrop is back in action next weekend in its final in season tournament of the year with a trip to Huntington, W.Va. Mar. 4-6. Winthrop will open play on Friday, Mar. 4 at 9:30 a.m. vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore.
For everything Winthrop softball visit
www.winthropeagles.com or follow us on social media @Winthropsoftbal, winthropsoftball (Instagram) or
www.facebook.com/Winthrop-Softball.
