Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop is riding a five-game winning streak as it heads to Buies Creek, N.C.
WINTHROP EAGLE CLASSIC
WHERE: Buies Creek, N.C. |
Amanda Littlejohn Stadium
WHEN: Friday-Sunday (Feb. 23-25)
PARTICIPATING TEAMS: Campbell (1-9), Incarnate Word (5-0), St. Joseph's (1-4), Winthrop (7-3)
FOLLOW: @Winthropsoftbal
WINTHROP SCHEDULE
Friday, Feb. 23
Winthrop vs. St. Joseph's, 12:30 p.m.
Winthrop at Campbell, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 24
Winthrop vs. St. Joseph's, 10:30 a.m.
Winthrop vs. Incarnate Word, 1:00 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 25
Winthrop at Campbell, 1:00 p.m.
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Have won five straight games, four of which have been by one run
- Earned a 4-1 victory over Appalachian State to capture the 5th straight win
- Paige Rivas leads the team with a .371 average, 10 runs and 10 stolen bases (10-for-10)
- Ashton VanHouse is next at .355 and is 6-for-6 on the bases
- VanHouse leads the team with four RBI while Emma Jackson, Ansley Lee, Megan Powell and Grayson Buckner are second with three
- As a team the Eagles have 24 stolen bases on the year (24-for-25)
- Reese Basinger and Megan Powell lead the way in the circle
- Basinger is 4-2 with a 1.17 ERA and 38 strikeouts to 10 walks in 36 innings
- Powell is 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA and 25 strikeouts to 21 walks in 25.2 innings
- Both also bat as well with Basinger hitting .357 (5-for-14) and Powell batting .233 (7-for-30)
- Jackson (.350) and Lee (.318) are also batting over .300
- This is the 51st season in the history of the Winthrop softball program
- On Saturday, Feb. 10 the Eagles defeated North Carolina A&T 2-1 on a walk-off in the 3000th game in program history
- This weekend the Eagles will play the 3,006th, 3,007th, 3,008th, 3,009th and 3,010th games in program history as the Eagles hold an all-time record of 1,227-1,077-3
- Captured 1,200th victory in program history on Feb. 18 in a 7-2 victory over North Carolina A&T at Terry Field
LOOKING BACK AT 2022
- Eagles finished one game outside of the Top 4 in the league standings
- Lost the last nine games of the season, but still finished with a winning record at 26-24
- Return a lot of experience with nine field players that were either regular starters or saw significant playing time throughout the season
- The team's leading batter from last season returns in Paige Rivas, who led with a .329 average
- Paige Rivas also led the team in stolen bases with 15, on-base percentage (.435) and walks with 26
- KaDedra Temple was second on the team with 20 RBI last season and tied with Paige Rivas for second on the team with 25 runs
- Temple also led the team in doubles and home runs
- In the circle the Eagles return 2023 First Team All-Big South selection Reese Basinger, who turned in one of the best seasons in program history
- Basinger set career-highs with 15 wins, an ERA of 1.97 and had 212 strikeouts
- She was the first Eagle with 200-plus strikeouts since Shahna Ashard had 216 in 2005
- Basinger tossed a perfect game on Mar. 25 in a 6-0 win over S.C. State
- Ashton VanHouse who was third on the team in stolen bases with 11 and Temple was fourth with 10
HEAD COACH KENDALL FULLER
- Kendall Fuller is in her second stint with the Eagles
- She joined the Winthrop staff as an assistant coach in 2013, was promoted to Associate head coach in the fall of 2014 and with three games remaining in the 2015 season was promoted to Co-Head Coach with Mark Cooke
- Fuller remained Co-Head Coach for the 2016 and 2017 seasons
- In July of 2020 she was named the head softball coach at Lees-McRae and in three seasons compiled a 65-68 overall record
- Led the team to a 32-18 mark in 2023, setting the program record for victories in a single-season
- That season they had a runner-up finish in the Conference Carolinas regular season
- For the team's success in 2023, Fuller was named the Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year
- In her two-plus seasons as Co-Head Coach of the Eagles, Fuller is 50-79 (115-147 career record)
RECORD BOOK WATCH
- Reese Basinger
- Has 366 career strikeouts in three seasons, which ranks 9th all-time in program history
- Trails 8th place by 47 strikeouts
- Has a career ERA of 2.11, which ranks 7th all-time in program history (371.1 innings pitched)
- Paige Rivas
- In four seasons with the Eagles she's stolen 50 bases, which ranks 6th all-time
- Became just the 6th player in program history to reach 50 career stolen bases
- In her career she has 55 stolen bases
- Has 117 hits as an Eagle and ranks 40th on the all-time hit list
- Ashton VanHouse
- Has 54 career stolen bases, which ranks tied for 4th on the all-time list (13 behind 3rd place and 20 behind 2nd)
- Became just the 5th player in program history to reach 50 career stolen bases
SEASON HONORS
- Reese Basinger (Big South Pitcher of the Week / Feb. 20)
- Went 3-1 on the week with a 1.50 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 23.1 innings
- First win on the week came in relief at UNC Greensboro
UP NEXT
Eagles will have a midweek contest on the road on Wednesday, Feb. 28 as they cross the state line to face Queens. First pitch is scheduled for 5 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.
