Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop softball looks to keep pace in the Big South Conference standings as it heads to Gardner-Webb Apr. 15-16 for a key three-game series.
WINTHROP at GARDNER-WEBB
WHERE: Boiling Springs, N.C. |
Brinkley Softball Stadium
WHEN: Friday, Apr. 15, 4 p.m. / 6 p.m. (doubleheader) | Saturday, Apr. 16, 12 p.m.
RECORDS: Winthrop (14-27, 7-8 Big South) / Gardner-Webb (13-19, 5-10 Big South)
LIVE STATS: Game 1 /
Game 2 /
Game 3 |
LIVE VIDEO (ESPN+): Game 1 / Game 2
FOLLOW: @Winthropsoftbal
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Winthrop leads the series with Gardner-Webb, 32-18 and captured the regular season series in 2021
- Have won two straight series over the Runnin' Bulldogs and have shutout Gardner-Webb in three of the last four meetings
- This is the first series at Gardner-Webb since the 2017 season when the Eagles were swept (two 1-run losses)
- In fact the Eagles have lost six straight in Boiling Springs with five of the losses by one run
- The last win in Boiling Springs was Apr. 7, 2013 in a 7-5 victory to complete a road sweep
- Eagles captured their first Big South series last weekend against Charleston Southern and are sitting in 5th place in the league standings
- Sit one game ahead of Charleston Southern and are two games up on Gardner-Webb and Radford (Top 6 teams qualify for conference tournament)
- Batting .250 as a team, 4th in the Big South
- As a team the Eagles have been hit-by-pitch 37 times, which is the third-most in a single-season by a Winthrop team
- The Eagles in 2021 set the program record with 39 HBP
- Winthrop leads the league in walks (121) and is 3rd in on-base percentage (.349)
- Rank second in the league with 78 stolen bases, which are the 8th most by a Winthrop team in a single-season
- Macy McCall leads the team with 20 while Ashton Vanhouse has 19 and Paige Rivas is third with 16
- McCall is second in the Big South in steals, Vanhouse is 3rd and Rivas is 6th
- McCall is tied for the league-lead with 10 doubles, 3rd in runs
- McCall is also currently riding a nine-game hitting streak in league competition and leads the team with a .404 average in 15 league games
- Lauren King is 8th in the league in on-base percentage (.432) while Rivas
- King has been hit by a pitch 15 times this season, tied for second-most in a single-season (18 is the record set by Sarah Magee in 2007)
- Rivas is 4th in the conference in batting with a .369 average
- Freshmen Reese Basinger and Sydney Boulware make up the starting rotation, each with 16 starts on the year
- Basinger was in the circle for both wins over Charleston Southern and has a team-high six wins
- In her last three starts Basinger is 3-0 with a 2.10 ERA, two complete games, 15 strikeouts and seven walks in 20 innings of work
- Boulware has four wins on the year and is 5th in the league in strikeouts with 1048 while Basinger is 7th with 95
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 82-86 overall and 32-28 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 486-424 and a record of 323-332 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 66 career stolen bases as an Eagle and is closing in on the program record of 71 held 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
- McCall in her career is closing in on 100 runs (94) and has 81 career stolen bases
- She surpassed 100 hits in her career earlier this season and now has 125
UP NEXT
Winthrop won't be in action until Apr. 23-24 when it travels to Clinton, S.C. for another Big South league series. The series against Presbyterian College will begin on Saturday, Apr. 23 with a doubleheader starting at noon and wrap-up on Sunday, Apr. 24 at 1 p.m. in a single-game.
For everything Winthrop softball visit
www.winthropeagles.com or follow us on social media @Winthropsoftbal, winthropsoftball (Instagram) or
www.facebook.com/Winthrop-Softball.
