Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop softball is back home as it hosts Coastal Carolina for a doubleheader on Tuesday, Mar. 29 on Terry Field.
WINTHROP vs. COASTAL CAROLINA
WHERE: Rock Hill, S.C. |
Terry Field
WHEN: Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2 p.m. / 4 p.m. (doubleheader)
RECORDS: Winthrop (11-19, 5-4 Big South) / Coastal Carolina (12-17, 1-8 Sun Belt)
LIVE STATS: Game 1 /
Game 2 |
LIVE VIDEO: None
FOLLOW: @Winthropsoftbal
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Winthrop and Coastal Carolina meet for the first time since 2019
- The two teams were schedule to face off the last two seasons but each time was canceled
- Coastal Carolina leads the all-time series 60-45 as the teams meet for the 106th and 107th time
- This is just the 2nd and 3rd midweek games the Eagles have played so far this season
- Eagles look to end a two-game skid at home where they are 5-7 this season
- Batting .265 (3rd in the Big South) as a team and scoring 4.1 runs per game
- Lead the Big South in steals per game (2.33) and rank 9th nationally
- Macy McCall leads the team with 19 stolen bases and ranks 15th
- Junior outfielder Paige Rivas leads the team in batting (.372) and ranks 9th in the league
- Ashton Vanhouse is second at .317 and Lauren Hutcherson is third at .309
- Eagles feature a trio of starters in the circle with freshmen Reese Basinger and Sydney Boulware and junior Bella Roy
- Basinger leads the team with 11 starts, Boulware has 10 and Roy with eight
- Basinger and Boulware are tied for the most wins with four each while Roy has three
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 79-79 overall and 30-24 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 481-415 and a record of 319-325 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
UP NEXT
Winthrop is back on the road for a Big South series Apr. 1-2 as it travels to Spartanburg, S.C. to take on USC Upstate. The series begins with a doubleheader on Friday, Apr. 1 scheduled to start at 4 p.m. and a single-game on Saturday, Apr. 2 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.
