Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop softball puts its four-game winning streak on the line Tuesday night as it visits nationally-ranked Clemson.
WINTHROP at #14/15 CLEMSON
WHERE: Clemson, S.C. |
McWhorter Stadium | Tickets (Game is listed as SOLD OUT)
WHEN: Tuesday, Mar. 15, 6 p.m.
RECORDS: Winthrop (9-14, 3-0 Big South) / Clemson (16-6, 0-3 ACC)
LIVE STATS: Statbroadcast |
LIVE VIDEO: ACCNX
FOLLOW: @Winthropsoftbal
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Winthrop and Clemson meet for the third time as the Tigers won the first two meetings as part of a doubleheader in Clemson during the 2021 season
- Have won four straight and seven of the last eight contests after a 2-13 start
- Opened up conference play with a sweep of North Carolina A&T, totaling 34 runs in the three games
- Eagles also finished the weekend 22-for-22 stealing bases and now lead the Big South with 59 as a team
- Winthrop ranks 7th nationally in steals per game (2.57)
- In the 10-2 win (5 innings) over North Carolina A&T the Eagles stole 11 bases, which is tied for the most on the NCAA D1 level in a single-game (ETSU is the other)
- Macy McCall leads the team with 16 (10th nationally) while Paige Rivas has 12 (30th nationally) and Ashton Vanhouse has 11 (49th nationally)
- Paige Rivas leads the team with a .400 average, which ranks 5th in the Big South and is 8th in the league in on-base percentage (.443)
- Paige Rivas had a season-best 10-game hitting streak come to an end in the N.C. A&T series but has reached base in 12 straight
- Vanhouse is second on the team with a .326 average and third on the team with 12 runs
- Lauren King leads the team with 12 RBI while McCall, Kaitlyn Tucker and Lauren Hutcherson are next with 10
- Eagles are led by two freshmen in Reese Basinger and Sydney Boulware as well as junior Bella Roy in the circle
- Basinger leads the team with a 2.69 ERA (52 innings pitched), 3-4 record and has 46 strikeouts to 13 walks (46 strikeouts are 9th in the Big South)
- Boulware also has three wins and has 78 strikeouts to 24 walks in 51 innings of work
- Roy had two wins in the weekend series against North Carolina A&T (one as a reliever and other as a starter)
- Boulware is 5th in the Big South in strikeouts despite not ranking in the Top 10 in innings pitched
- Boulware ranks 24th in the country in strikeouts per seven innings 10.7 and first in the conference
LOOKING BACK AT 2021
- 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 fourth season at Winthrop and in her 17th season as head coach of a collegiate softball program
- Has a record of 77-74 overall and 28-20 in the Big South in her time with Winthrop
- 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 479-410 and a record of 317-320 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
BIG SOUTH WEEKLY HONORS
- Bailey Warren, So., DP/C (Mar. 14)
- Warren batted .626 with five runs, two home runs, three RBI and was 5-for-5 on the bases in the series sweep of N.C. A&T
- Warren also had an on-base percentage of .750 and 1.375 slugging percentage
- Went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI in the series opener against the Aggies
- Went 2-for-3 with three steals and a home run in the finale
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 60 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 gets back to league action as it hosts Radford for a weekend series Mar. 19-20. The series will open with a doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 19 beginning at 2 p.m. and conclude with a single-game on Sunday, Mar. 20 at 1 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.
