Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop softball looks to keep itself atop the Big South Conference standings as it welcomes Radford for a weekend series Mar. 19-20.
WINTHROP vs. RADFORD
WHERE: Rock Hill, S.C. |
Terry Field
WHEN: Saturday, Mar. 19, 2 p.m. / 4 p.m. (doubleheader) | Sunday, Mar. 20, 1 p.m. (single-game)
RECORDS: Winthrop (9-15, 3-0 Big South) / Radford (7-11, 1-2 Big South)
LIVE STATS: Game 1 /
Game 2 /
Game 3 |
ESPN+: |
Game 1 /
Game 2 /
Game 3
FOLLOW: @Winthropsoftbal
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Winthrop and Radford have met 92 times with the Eagles holding a 53-39 record in the series
- Radford holds a 23-14 record in the last 37 meetings, 19 of which have been decided by two runs or less
- Eagles look to capture their first series against Radford since 2008
- Opened Big South play at 3-0 for the first time since 2017
- Eagles are the only team in the conference open league play with a series sweep
- Scored 34 runs total with 22 stolen bases as well in the opening series vs. N.C. A&T
- Eagles rank 4th in the league in runs per game (4.38)
- Ranks first in the conference and 9th nationally in steals per game (2.46)
- 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 (37th nationally) and Ashton Vanhouse has 11 (57th nationally)
- Paige Rivas leads the team with a .403 average, which ranks tied for 3rd in the Big South and is 8th in the league in on-base percentage (.444)
- 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 .340 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 2.72 ERA (54 innings pitched), 3-5 record and has 46 strikeouts to 15 walks (46 strikeouts are tied for 8th 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 77-75 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 479-411 and a record of 317-321 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 will be off midweek and will hit the road for its first away conference series. The Eagles head to Hampton, Va. to take on the Pirates Mar. 25-26 with a doubleheader on Friday, Mar. 25 at 1 p.m. and a single-game on Saturday, Mar. 26 at noon.
For everything Winthrop softball visit
www.winthropeagles.com or follow us on social media @Winthropsoftbal, winthropsoftball (Instagram) or
www.facebook.com/Winthrop-Softball.
