Rock Hill, S.C.—Winthrop steps away from conference action to take on 6
th-ranked Clemson on the road, Tuesday evening.
(WINTHROP (25-16, 8-7 Big South) at #6 CLEMSON (40-5, 14-4 ACC)
WHERE: Clemson, S.C. | McWhorter Stadium
WHEN: Tuesday, Apr. 18, 5:30 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Statbroadcast
LIVE STREAM: ACCNX
FOLLOW: @Winthropsoftbal
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Eagles are celebrating 50 years of collegiate softball competition this season
- This is the 2,290th in program history
- Captured 1,200th victory in program history on Feb. 18 in a 7-2 victory over North Carolina A&T at Terry Field
- This is the first game against a nationally-ranked opponent since the Eagles traveled to Clemson Apr. 13, 2021 and dropped both games of a doubleheader with the 17th-ranked Tigers
- Winthrop holds a 3-42 all-time record vs. nationally-ranked opponents and 1-11 against Top 10 teams
- The last win over nationally-ranked opponent came on Feb. 24, 2012 in a 2-1 victory over #9 Tennessee on a neutral site (NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla.)
- The strength of the Eagles this season has been pitching as they feature two of the top pitchers in the league in Reese Basinger and Sydney Boulware
- Basinger and Boulware lead the staff that is ranked 3rd in the league with a 2.46 ERA
- Basinger is 15-9 on the year with a 1.86 ERA and has 191 strikeouts to 45 walks
- Sydney Boulware is 10-5 on the year with a 2.67 ERA and has 115 strikeouts to 24 walks
- As a staff the Eagles have 329 which leads the conference and is 4th nationally (games through Apr. 16)
- The 329 strikeouts are the 4th most in a single-season by a Winthrop team
- Basinger and Boulware are 1st & 6th respectively in strikeouts in the Big South
- Basinger is 5th in the conference in ERA, tied for 3rd in total wins (Boulware is 6th in wins)
- In a stretch of three starts before the Gardner-Webb series Basinger struck out 13 or more batters which included a career-high 16 against Radford in the series opener
- Basinger tossed a perfect game on Mar. 22 in a 6-0 win over S.C. State as she struck out 13 in the game
- On Feb. 24 Boulware struck out a career-high 15 in seven innings against North Carolina Central
- Basinger's 16 strikeouts are the most by any Big South pitcher this year and Boulware's 15 strikeouts are the second-most
- Eagles are the only team in the country with more than one pitcher that has struck out 15 or more batters in a game (as of Apr. 14)
- The duo both rank in the nationally in total strikeouts as Basinger is 6th, Boulware is 70th
- Opened the season recording back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2006
- Sitting 7th in the Big South in batting average (.241), 5th in total hits and 7th in total runs
- Macy McCall leads the team in batting (.338), 2nd in runs (23) and leads the team in RBI (25) - The 25 RBI are a career-best for a single-season
- McCall is 6th in the Big South in walks while ranking 8th in RBI and on-base percentage
- Paige Rivas is 2nd on the team with a .331 average and is 5th in the league in on-base percentage
- KaDedra Temple is among the league leaders in home runs (T-6th)
- McCall became the program's all-time leader in stolen bases, surpassing Charlene Smith's record of 71 (has 81 at Winthrop, 96 in her career)
- Chelsea Roberson has been behind the plate for the majority of innings this season and is 3rd in the Big South with 11 runners caught stealing
- Sitting just four wins away from the first 30-win season since 2019, which was the first season under head coach Windy Thees
- Two more victories this season will guarantee the Eagles a winning record for the second time in three seasons and the third time under Thees
- This year's squad is made up of five freshmen, four sophomores, 10 juniors, four seniors and a graduate student
- 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)
- 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)
- Kaitlyn Tucker led the team with 24 RBI and tied McCall for the team-lead in doubles (10)
- Ashton Vanhouse was second on the team with a .309 average and third in runs with 22
- 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 101-110 overall and 43-44 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 516-450 and a record of 353-358 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
- Macy McCall
- Single-season record of 46 stolen bases in her first year with the Eagles put her 3rd all-time in program history
- This season 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 96 total stolen bases in her collegiate career (81 with the Eagles) which moves her into 10th in Big South history for a single-season
- Has drawn 76 walks with the Eagles, moving into 3rd on the all-time list (just 1-of-6 with 70 or more in career)
- Moved into 26th on the all-time hit list at Winthrop with 148 and is one behind 24th and five behind 23rd
- Became the 16th player in program history to score 100 runs and is currently 13th with 104
- Reese Basinger
- Moved into 10th on the program's all-time list for career strikeouts (321) and now trails Sutton Watson by five for 9th place
- Now ranks 7th in strikeouts for a single-season with 191 and is 19 away from 6th place
- Now eight strikeouts away from becoming just the 4th Eagle in program history to record 200 or more strikeouts in a single-season
- If/When she does reach that mark she'll be the first Eagle to do so since Shahna Ashard struck out 217 in 2005
- Is three wins away from cracking the program's Top 10 for wins in a single-season
- Sydney Boulware
- Has 244 career strikeouts and is 14 away from matching her career-high in a single-season
- Leads team with five shutouts, three away from cracking the single-season Top 10
- TEAM ACHIEVEMENTS
- The Eagles have 329 strikeouts on the season, which ranks 4th on the program's Top 10 list
- Currently have 59 stolen bases, nine away from the program's single-season Top 10
BIG SOUTH WEEKLY HONORS
- Ansley Lee – Player of the Week (Mar. 6)
- Led the team in average (.412) for the week and RBI with six (five games)
- Three of her hits were for extra bases that included two doubles and a home run
- Had a career-high three hits (3-for-3) and had two RBI in the win over Texas State
- In the loss to Oakland she drove in a career-high three runs including a go-ahead RBI single in the 8th for a 4-3 lead
- In the win over Penn she was 1-for-3 with two runs and an RBI
- Reese Basinger – Pitcher of the Week (Mar. 13)
- Was 2-0 with an ERA of 1.50 and 16 strikeouts to three walks in 14 innings
- Struck out 11 vs. Rider as she took a no-hitter into the seventh inning
- Reese Basinger – Pitcher of the Week (Mar. 27)
- Was 3-0 with a 0.67 ERA while record 42 strikeouts to one walk in 21 innings
- Tossed a perfect game against S.C. State with 13 strikeouts
- Struck out a career-high 16 in the 2-1 win over Radford
- Struck out 13 in the final game of the series with Radford
- Also named D1Softball Pitcher of the Week
- Sydney Boulware
- Tossed a three-hit shutout at USC Upstate to help the team complete a doubleheader sweep
- Retired the final seven batters of the game to secure the shutout as she finished with five strikeouts and two walks to earn her 10th win of the year
UP NEXT
Winthrop will get back to Big South Conference action as it hosts Longwood for its final home league series of the regular season. The series will begin with a doubleheader on Saturday, Apr. 22 at 1 p.m. and will finish with a single-game on Sunday, Apr. 23 at 1 p.m. Prior to Sunday's game there will be a senior recognition.
For everything Winthrop softball visit
www.winthropeagles.com or follow us on social media @Winthropsoftbal, winthropsoftball (Instagram) or
www.facebook.com/aWinthrop-Softball
