Rock Hill, S.C. — Winthrop opened the Winthrop Garnet & Gold Tournament with a 3-2 win over Harvard and 5-4 win over North Carolina Central on Friday.
GAME INFORMATION
RECORD: Winthrop (8-2) | Harvard (0-0) | NCCU (0-9)
WINTHROP LEADERS: Sydney Boulware (CG, W, BB, 15K) |
Reese Basinger (CG, W, 2BB, 7K) |
Paige Rivas (3-6, 2BB, SB) |
Kaitlyn Tucker (2-6, R, 3B, 2RBI)
WHAT HAPPENED
vs. Harvard
- Eagles threatened in the bottom of the first as KaDedra Temple reached on a fielder's choice with one out and the moved to second on a Macy McCall infield single but back-to-back strikeouts ended the inning
- Winthrop scored all of its runs in the bottom of the third inning as Oliva Martin got things started with a leadoff single to left
- Martin then stole second and moved to third on a double down the left field line by Temple
- McCall followed with a grounder to second as the throw came home late and Martin scored on the play
- Kaylyn Little then walked to load the bases and Kaitlyn Tucker followed with a sacrifice fly to left for a 2-0 lead
- Two batters later with the bases loaded, Ansley Lee walked to score McCall from third
- Winthrop had a chance to add to its lead in the bottom of the fourth when it loaded the bases with no outs, but come came up empty
- Harvard got on the board in the fifth inning as Teagan Shaw led off the inning with a home run to left center
- The Crimson made it a one run game in the top of the seventh but Reese Basinger was able to work out of the jam to secure the win
- Basinger finished with a complete game allowing one earned run with two walks and seven strikeouts
vs. NCCU
- Eagles grabbed the lead n the bottom of the third inning on a two-out RBI single from Mackenzie Smith
- Tucker followed with a triple down the right field line to, scoring Smith for a 2-0 lead
- NCCU tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the 5th when Maegan Garrison delivered a two-out pinch-hit two-run homerun to center
- In the top of the fifth inning Garrison came through again for NCCU as she hit her second two-out two-run homerun for a 4-2 lead
- Eagles got one back in the bottom of the sixth as Lily Stump singled with two outs and moved Bailey Warren into scoring position
- Paige Rivas then reached on an infield single to load the bases
- With Temple batting a pitch was throw in the dirt to the backstop as Warren came home on the wild pitch
- In the bottom of the seventh, Smith walked and then Tucker singled up the middle to put two on with one away
- Two batters later Chelsea Roberson hit a 3-2 pitch to left center and as the leftfielder went to catch the ball it hit the top of her glove and fell to the ground
- Tucker and pinch-runner Ashton Vanhouse were off and running on contact and both came around to score on the play as Tucker crossed the play for the winning run
EXTRA BASES
- Sydney Boulware improved to 5-0 as she allowed four runs on four hits with a walk and a career-high 15 strikeouts
- Paige Rivas extended her streak of reaching base to nine straight
- In the two games combined, Basinger and Boulware combined for 22 strikeouts to just three walks in 14 innings
- Eagles have now won three straight, two wins coming by one run
ON DECK
Winthrop is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 25 when it hosts Harvard at 3 p.m. and LIU at 5:30 p.m. on day two of the Winthrop Garnet & Gold Tournament.
For everything Winthrop softball visit
www.winthropeagles.com or follow us on social media @Winthropsoftbal, winthropsoftball (Instagram) or
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