Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop softball is back this weekend as it heads back to the state of Georgia for the Hail Southern Classic (Mar. 8-9) hosted by Georgia Southern.
HAIL SOUTHERN CLASSIC
WHERE: Statesboro, Ga. | Eagle Field at GS Softball Complex
WHEN: Friday, Mar. 8 – Saturday, Mar. 9
PARTICIPATING TEAMS: Winthrop (8-11) | Georgia Southern (12-6) | Buffalo (6-9)
FOLLOW: @Winthropsoftbal
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
WINTHROP SCHEDULE
Friday, Mar. 8
Winthrop vs. Buffalo, 1:00 p.m. |
Live Stats
Winthrop at Georgia Southern, 6:00 p.m. |
Live Stats |
ESPN+
Saturday, Mar. 9
Winthrop vs. Buffalo, 11:00 a.m. |
Live Stats
Winthrop at Georgia Southern, 1:30 p.m. |
Live Stats |
ESPN+
SERIES HISTORY WITH GEORGIA SOUTHERN/BUFFALO
- Eagles and Georgia Southern meet for the 28th and 29th time
- Winthrop and Buffalo meet for the 5th and 6th time
- Winthrop is 20-7 all-time against Georgia Southern while holding a 3-1 edge in the all-time series with Buffalo
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Ended a eight-game losing streak with a 5-4 win at Georgia State on Sunday
- Emma Jackson was 4-for-8 with four doubles and four RBI at the Bob Heck Classic last weekend and now leads the team with a .357 average (7th in the league)
- Jackson now has seven doubles on the year which leads the team and the Big South
- In addition to leading the league in doubles, Jackson leads with a .492 on-base percentage
- Reese Basinger is second on the team with a .353 batting average and ranks 8th in the league
- Paige Rivas is third on the team with a .323 average and leads the conference with 17 stolen bases
- Her 17 stolen bases are also the most in the nation and 2nd in stolen bases per game (games through Mar. 3)
- Ansley Lee is tied with Jackson for the team lead in RBI with seven
- VanHouse is also 9-for-9 stealing bases, ranking 5th in the conference
- As a team the Eagles have 36 stolen bases on the year (36-for-38)
- Basinger and Megan Powell lead way in the circle
- Basinger is 5-6 with a 2.40 ERA and 51 strikeouts to 20 walks in 67 innings
- Powell is 3-3 with a 3.60 ERA and 33 strikeouts to 26 walks in 35.0 innings
- 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 3,015th games in program history as the Eagles hold an all-time record of 1,228-1,085-3
- 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 51-87 (116-155 career record)
RECORD BOOK WATCH
- Reese Basinger
- Has 393 career strikeouts in three seasons, which ranks 9th all-time in program history
- Trails 8th place by 20 strikeouts
- Has a career ERA of 2.24, which ranks 8th all-time in program history (402.1 innings pitched)
- Paige Rivas
- In four seasons with the Eagles she's stolen 57 bases, tied for 4th all-time (10 behind 3rd)
- Became just the 6th player in program history to reach 50 career stolen bases
- In her career she has 62 stolen bases
- Has 124 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
Eagles will have a midweek contest on the road as they head to Spartanburg, S.C. on Wednesday, Mar. 13 to take on Wofford College in a single-game 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.
