Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop softball heads to Hampton for its first Big South road series of the season, taking on the Pirates Mar. 25-26.
WINTHROP at HAMPTON
WHERE: Hampton, Va. |
Lady Pirates Softball Stadium
WHEN: Friday, Mar. 25, 1 p.m. / 3 p.m. (doubleheader) | Saturday, Mar. 26, 12 p.m. (single-game)
RECORDS: Winthrop (10-17, 4-2 Big South) / Hampton (10-18, 1-5 Big South)
LIVE STATS: Sidearm (all games) |
LIVE VIDEO: None
FOLLOW: @Winthropsoftbal
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Winthrop and Hampton meet for just the second time since Hampton entered the Big South
- Winthrop took 2-of-3 in the series which was played at Hampton in 2019
- The two programs have only met a total of five times as the Eagles hold a 4-1 lead in the series
- Eagles currently sitting in a tie for second place in the Big South standings
- Sitting 4th in the league with a .256 batting average and 4th in total runs
- Winthrop averaging 4.3 runs per game (4th in Big South) while Hampton is scoring 3.8 per game (6th in Big South)
- Eagles rank first in the league in walks, 2nd in stolen bases and 3rd in on-base percentage
- Rank 8th in the league with a 3.95 ERA but 3rd in strikeouts and 4th in opposing batting average
- Junior outfielder Paige Rivas leads the team in batting (.397) and ranks 3rd in the league
- Ashton Vanhouse is second at .327 and Lauren Hutcherson is third at .300
- Hutcherson leads the team in batting average through six league games (.444) while Rivas is second at .429
- Macy McCall leads the team with 17 (14th nationally), Vanhouse has 14 (33rd nationally) and Rivas has 12 (54th nationally)
- Lauren King leads the team with 14 RBI and a team-high .437 on-base percentage that ranks 7th in the league
- Eagles are led by two freshmen in Reese Basinger and Sydney Boulware as well as junior Bella Roy in the circle
- Basinger and Roy each have two wins in league play
- Basinger leads the team in overall ERA at 2.47 (8th in the Big South) and ranks 8th in strikeouts
- Boulware leads the team in strikeouts with 84 (5th in Big South) but leads the league in strikeouts per game (10.63)
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 78-77 overall and 29-22 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 480-413 and a record of 318-323 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 has her 3rd all-time in program history
- McCall now has 61 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
Eagles step away from conference play to host Coastal Carolina on Tuesday, Mar. 29 in a doubleheader starting at 2 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.
