Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop has a busy week beginning with a Tuesday night trip to Chapel Hill, N.C. to take on North Carolina and then head to Boca Raton, Fla. Mar. 2-5 for the Owl Classic at Florida Atlantic.
WINTHROP (10-3) AT NORTH CAROLINA (6-9)
WHERE: Chapel Hill, N.C. |
Anderson Stadium
WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 28 | 5 p.m.
LIVE STATS | ACCNX
FOLLOW: @Winthropsoftbal
OWL CLASSIC
WHERE: Boca Raton, Fla. |
FAU Softball Stadium
WHEN: Thursday-Sunday (Mar. 2-5)
PARTICIPATING TEAMS: Texas State, Oakland, FAU, Illinois State, Penn, Winthrop
FOLLOW: @Winthropsoftbal
WINTHROP SCHEDULE (OWL CLASSIC)
Thursday, Mar. 2
Winthrop vs. Texas State (12-4), 12 p.m.
Winthrop vs. Oakland (2-2), 4:45 p.m.
Friday, Mar. 3
Winthrop vs. Penn (0-5), 11:30 a.m.
Winthrop at FAU (9-6), 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Mar. 4
Winthrop vs. Texas State
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Off to their best start through 13 games since the 1995 team was 10-3
- Coming off a 4-1 week in which the Eagles earned three one-run victories
- In the 2-1 win in nine innings over Fordham, head coach Windy Thees earned her 500th career victory
- The victory came in exciting fashion as Mackenzie Smith tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with a double down the right field line and then delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth
- The Eagles are 30-79 all-time against opponents from the ACC with the last win coming Feb. 14, 2020 in a 4-2 victory over Virginia
- The last road win against an ACC opponent came on Apr. 19, 2017 in an 8-7 victory at North Carolina
- So far this season the Eagles are 6-2 in games decided by two or fewer runs
- In 13 games the Eagles have outscored their opponents 18-0 in the third inning, but have been outscored 6-2 in the first
- Opened the season recording back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2006
- As of Feb. 27 the Eagles are 4th in the Big South in batting average (.261) and 3rd in ERA (1.99)
- The team ERA ranks 42nd nationally (as of Feb. 27) and the strike-to-walk ration (3.79) ranks 26th
- Lead the Big South in total strikeouts (129) in 95.0 innings
- The Winthrop pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts with 78 (games thru Feb. 22)
- The pitching staff features the sophomore duo of Reese Basinger and Sydney Boulware
- Basinger is 5-2 on the year with a 1.39 ERA and 63 strikeouts to 16 walks in 45.1 innings
- Boulware is 5-0 with a 2.15 ERA and 59 strikeouts to 12 walks in 39.0 innings
- Basinger is 4th in the conference in ERA while Boulware ranks 6th
- Basinger and Boulware are 1-2 in the conference in strikeouts
- Basinger tossed a 3-hit shutout in the opener behind a career-high 13 strikeouts
- Boulware then tossed a 6-0 hit shutout with one walk and six strikeouts
- The duo both rank in the Top 15 nationally in total strikeouts as Basinger is 10th, Boulware is 14th
- Chelsea Roberson has been behind the plate for all 13 games and leads the Big South with five runners caught stealing
- Paige Rivas leads the team with a .371 average while her sister Peyton Rivas is second with a .360 average
- Macy McCall has started all 13 games and is batting .341 and is a perfect 7-for-7 on the bases
- McCall became the program's all-time leader in stolen bases, surpassing Charlene Smith's record of 71 (has 75 at Winthrop, 91 in her career)
- Kaitlyn Tucker leads the team in RBI with 10, ranking 7th in the conference
- Eagles return four starters with 50 or more starts and five with 35 or more starts last season
- Led by McCall (two-time All-Big South selection) and Paige Rivas (All-Big South selection)
- Junior Kaitlyn Tucker led the team with 24 RBI and tied McCall for the team-lead in doubles (10)
- Vanhouse was second on the team with a .309 average and third in runs with 22
- This year's squad is made up of five freshmen, four sophomores, 10 juniors, four seniors and a graduate student
- Eagles were voted 6th in the Big South Conference Preseason Poll
LOOKING BACK AT 2021
- Eagles are coming off an 18-37 campaign in which the majority of the key players were underclassmen, including a 1-2 pitching staff of freshmen
- The Eagles featured a ton of speed on the bases, finishing second in the Big South in steals with 100
- The 100 steals were the third most in program history for a single-season
- For the first time in program history the Eagles had three different players steal 20 or more bases in a season
- Red-shirt junior Paige Rivas led the team with 25 swipes while Macy McCall had 23 and Ashton Vanhouse snagged 22
- McCall is a two-time All-Big South selection, who set the program record for stolen bases in a season with 48 in 2021
- That season her 48 stolen bases ranked 2nd in the nation (NCAA D1)
- McCall set career-highs in doubles while tying her career-best of 17 RBI
- Paige Rivas led the team with a .354 average, ranking 8th in the Big South (9th in on-base percentage)
- Winthrop as a team set a program record for being hit by a pitch (41)
- Reese Basinger and Sydney Boulware led the pitching staff in their freshman season
- The duo combined for 259 strikeouts and the staff finished with 328 which ranks 4th in a single-season at Winthrop
- Eagles led the Big South in walks in 2022 (160), led by McCall with 27
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 86-97 overall and 35-37 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 18 seasons she's compiled an overall record of 500-437 and a record of 337-345 at the helm of a D1 program
- Her 500th career win came on Feb. 26 in a 2-1 victory over Fordham
- 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
RECORD BOOK WATCH
- McCall's single-season record of 46 stolen bases in her first year with the Eagles put her 3rd all-time in program history
- She became the program's all-time leader in stolen bases last weekend as she passed Charlene Smith's mark of 71
- McCall now has 91 total stolen bases in her collegiate career (76 with the Eagles)
- In three seasons McCall has drawn 63 walks with the Eagles, moving into 10th on the program's all-time list (1 behind 9th)
UP NEXT
Following its busy week away from home, the Eagles will have a midweek contest at South Carolina on Tuesday, Mar. 7 at 6 p.m.
For everything Winthrop softball visit
www.winthropeagles.com or follow us on social media @Winthropsoftbal, winthropsoftball (Instagram) or
www.facebook.com/aWinthrop-Softball
