Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop softball opens Big South Conference action on the road as it heads to Clinton, S.C. to take on Presbyterian College Mar. 16-17.
WINTHROP (10-14, 0-0 Big South) at PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE (8-17, 0-0 Big South)
WHERE: Clinton, S.C. | PC Softball Complex
WHEN: Saturday, Mar. 16 (1/3 p.m. Doubleheader | Sunday, Mar. 17 (2 p.m.)
LIVE STATS: Game 1 /
Game 2 /
Game 3
ESPN+: Game 1 /
Game 2 /
Game 3
FOLLOW: @Winthropsoftbal
SERIES HISTORY WITH PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE
- The Eagles are 22-21 all-time against the Blue Hose
- In the last 10 meetings the series is split 5-5, but the Eagles have won nine of the last 14 meetings
- Blue Hose have won five of the last six meetings and won the last matchup 3-1
- That 3-1 win gave PC the series against the Eagles for a second straight season
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Coming off an 11-3 midweek victory at Wofford on Wednesday night
- Eagles pounded out a season-high 17 hits in the game, the most since Apr. 6, 2019 when the Eagles had 21 in the first game of a doubleheader at Radford
- The 11 runs were the most in a single-game since the Eagles had 10 on Apr. 15, 2022 at Gardner-Webb
- In the game the Eagles had six different players with multiple hits and eight different players scored at least one run
- Heading into conference play the Eagles are 4th in the league in batting average and third in ERA
- Emma Jackson, who did not play in the win at Wofford, leads the team with a .357 average, while also leading in extra base hits and tied for the team-lead in RBI (7)
- Jackson's seven doubles lead the Eagles and tied for second in the Big South
- Second in batting average is Reese Basinger (.326) followed by Ashton VanHouse at .300 and Paige Rivas at .299
- Paige Rivas leads the team and the Big South with 18 stolen bases and her team-high 17 runs rank 5th in the conference
- KaDedra Temple took the team lead in RBI (8) after the Wofford game, followed by Jackson and Ansley Lee with seven
- As a team the Eagles have 39 stolen bases on the year (39-for-42)
- Basinger and Megan Powell lead way in the circle
- Basinger has a 7-7 record with a 2.48 ERA with 63 strikeouts and 22 walks in 82.0 innings
- Powell is 3-5 with an ERA of 3.13 with 39 strikeouts and 37 walks in 47 innings
- Basinger is 4th in the league in ERA and Powell is 10th
- Basinger is 4th in strikeouts while Powell is 9th
- In opposing batting average Basinger is 3rd and Powell is 4th
- 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 will be the 3,021st game in program history as the Eagles hold an all-time record of 1,230-1,088-3
- 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 2023
- 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 53-90 (118-158 career record)
RECORD BOOK WATCH
- Reese Basinger
- Has 405 career strikeouts in three seasons, which ranks 9th all-time in program history
- Became the 9th pitcher in program history to reach 400 career strikeouts
- Trails 8th place by eight strikeouts
- Has a career ERA of 2.26, which ranks 9th all-time in program history (417.1 innings pitched)
- Paige Rivas
- In four seasons with the Eagles she's stolen 58 bases, 3rd all-time (9 behind 3rd)
- Became just the 6th player in program history to reach 50 career stolen bases
- In her career she has 63 stolen bases
- Has 127 hits as an Eagle and rank 37th on the all-time hit list
- Ashton VanHouse
- Has 57 career stolen bases, tied for 4th on the all-time list (10 behind 3rd place and 15 behind 2nd)
- Became just the 5th player in program history to reach 50 career stolen bases
2024 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
Winthrop will have a home midweek contest on Wednesday, Mar. 20 as it welcomes Queens to Terry Field for a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 4 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.
