Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop steps away from conference action as it heads to Queens Tuesday evening for a 5 p.m. midweek matchup.
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Eagles are coming of a Big South Conference series sweep of Gardner-Webb over the weekend
- The Eagles batted .388 with 10 extra base hits, scoring 17 runs in three games
- This meeting with Queens is the first of four straight road games for the Eagles
- In the last midweek contest, the Eagles fell 2-1 in eight innings to Coastal Carolina on Mar. 18
- Winthrop allowed just one hit in the game, but it was the difference in the form of a two-run home run
- The Eagles and Royals have met four times as Queens leads the series 3-1
- The last meeting was Mar. 8, 2025 in Rock Hill as the Eagles fell 10-8
- Freshman Rebecca Amos leads the team with a .375 average and leads the team with 12 stolen bases and tied for the team-lead with 31 runs
- Junior Peyton Bryden is tied for second on the team with a .374 average and leads the team in RBI with 31 and is tied for the lead in home runs with seven
- Junior Darrah Nickens is tied with Bryden with a .374 batting average, is third in runs (23), tied for lead in home runs (7) and second in RBI (29)
- The seven home runs and 31 RBI are career-highs for Bryden
- Junior Tia Beckham had her first four-hit game of the season last vs. Bucknell as she's batting .349 and third on the team with 28 RBI
- It was her second four-hit game of her career and she now has eight multi-hit games this season
- She homered in four consecutive games, the best streak on record in program history
- Beckham hit a two-run home run in the sixth to lead Winthrop to a 3-2 win over Gardner-Webb in the series finale to complete the sweep
- Beckham is third in the Big South in slugging percentage followed by Bryden in 4th and Nickens is 5th
- Nickens is second in OPS, 3rd in home runs and walks, 6th in on-base percentage and 7th in RBI
- Bryden is 5th in the league in RBI and OPS while she ranks 8th in runs, and 6th in doubles
- Lonna Addison is 10-5 on the year in the circle with a 3.74 ERA and 76 strikeouts to 36 walks
- Her 3.74 ERA ranks 4th in the Big South and she's second in strikeouts and wins
- Emmy Cardenas has 13 starts and is 4-5 with a 4.12 ERA (ranked 8th in the league)
- Cardenas, who returned from injury just before the season has been working her way into form and recently pitched the first complete shutout game of her career in the win over Furman, allowing six hits and one strikeout
- Against Gardner-Webb she started two of the three games and had a 2.27 ERA in 12.1 innings of work
- Winthrop is ranked 3rd in the Big South with a team batting average of .297, third in runs scored and leads the conference in home runs (31)
- Eagles scored 10 or more runs in back-to-back games for the first time since February of 2020 when they scored 11 vs. N.C. A&T and then 17 against Delaware State
- In four games of the Coach Cooke Memorial Tournament, the Eagles had eight home runs
- On the opening weekend at the Gamecock Invitational, Bryden led the team with five runs, smashed two home runs and had three RBI
- Two of the losses on the opening weekend were by one run (Syracuse and #20 Virginia Tech)
- The Eagles opened the season with a 1-0 loss to #20 Virginia Tech, where the only run of the game was unearned
- Katie Beck, who led the team in home runs as a freshman with 11, will miss the 2026 season
- This is the 53rd season in the history of the Winthrop softball program
- This game will be the 2,439th game in program history as the Eagles hold an all-time record of 1,294-1,141-3
LOOKING BACK AT 2025
- Eagles season came to an end in the Big South Championship game for a second straight season in 2025
- It was the 15th time in the history of the program that the Eagles played in the championship game
- Returned a total of 14 players from the 2025 roster after losing two starters Megan Powell and Emma Jackson
- Tia Beckham, Peyton Bryden, and Grayson Buckner highlight the returning starters
- Also returning are Aspen King, Mili Watts, Ashlyn Bunn, Annelisa Winebarger, Lonna Addison, Sophia Lawson, Emma Roberson, Tabitha Perry, Madelyn Miller, and Emmy Cardenas
- Had the first 30-win season since 2019 and finished tied for 3rd in the league standings
- The Eagles batted a team average of .247 in the 2025 season
- Beckham was the 2025 Big South Newcomer of the Year
- Beckham started in all 53 games she appeared and batted .275 with 23 runs, 44 hits, 10 home runs, and a team-high 40 RBI
- Buckner, the only senior on the roster, started all 53 games she appeared in, batting .226 with 16 runs, 35 hits, and four home runs
- Bryden leads the returning players with a batting average of .302 and started 52 of her 53 game appearances
- Addison was the number two pitcher in 2025 and turned in strong season in the circle with an 11-6 record with a 2.92 ERA
- Addison was 5th in the Big South in ERA, 6th in strikeouts and tied for 6th in wins
- She capped off her first season as an Eagle with a Big South All-Tournament selection along with Powell and Jackson
- There are nine newcomers on the roster this year with seven freshman and two juniors
- The win over Gardner-Webb in the opening game of the series gave the Eagles 20 wins on the year in their 30th game
- It was the fastest to 20 wins since the 2007 team did it in 29 games
- Since 2007 the fastest team to 20 wins was the 2010 team (31 games) and more recently the 2023 team did it in 32 games
HEAD COACH KENDALL FULLER
- Kendall Fuller is in the third season of 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 career leading the Winthrop program she has a 113-139 (178-207) career record
- Earned her 100th win at Winthrop on Feb. 20 in a 4-3 victory over George Washington
- In her first season with the Eagles she led the team to within a game of a Big South title and NCAA Regional appearance
2026 SEASON HONORS
- Tia Beckham – Junior – Outfielder
- 2026 Big South Preseason All-Conference Team
- Darrah Nickens – Redshirt Junior – Utility
- Big South Co-Player of the Week (Feb. 17)
- Rebecca Amos – Freshman – Outfielder
- Big South Freshman of the Week (Feb. 24)
RECORD BOOK WATCH/CAREER MILESTONES
- Grayson Buckner (includes stats from Lees-McRae)
- Reached 100 career hits with a single in the first vs. Youngstown State in 2025 and reached 150 career hits in the first game of the PC series (153)
- Reached 50 career RBI after driving in five on the opening weekend (79)
- She also made her 100th start in the game vs. St. John's
- Tia Beckham (includes stats from N.C. State)
- Reached 50th career hit after going 2-for-3 against Robert Morris (70)
- After a home run vs. Gardner-Webb she now has six on the year and 16 in her career (all at Winthrop)
- Now has 68 RBI as an Eagle in 82 games played
- As an Eagle she also has 22 doubles
- Hit her second grand slam as an Eagle in the first inning of the 16-6 win over Drexel
- Lonna Addison (includes stats from Lees-McRae)
- Made 40th appearance as an Eagle in the win over George Mason
- In her collegiate career she has 80 appearances
- Earned her 30th collegiate victory on Mar. 6 in a 1-0 win over Georgia State
- Has 178 strikeouts as an Eagle and 404 in her career
- Has eight complete games on the year and 21 in her career (13 as an Eagle)
- Peyton Bryden
- Had six hits in the series with Gardner-Webb and now has 89 in her career
- Has played in 104 games and was 92 starts
- Joined the 20-double club last weekend as she now has 20 in her career
- Has career-highs in runs (31) and RBI (31)
- Set a career-high in home runs with seven this season, giving her 12 for her career
JOIN THE EAGLE CLUB
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WINTHROP IMPACT NETWORK
Winthrop Athletics is proud to announce the launch of WIN: Winthrop's Impact Network- a distinguished philanthropic giving society established to support and elevate Winthrop's 16 NCAA Division I programs and nearly 300 student-athletes.
In the new era of college athletics, it is critical now more than ever to generate revenue to provide Winthrop student-athletes with the resources and opportunities needed to compete for Big South championships and advance in the NCAA tournament. Winthrop's Impact Network members will have an elite level of direct impact on the future of Winthrop Athletics. For more information,
click here.
WATCH THE EAGLES
Select home games as well as all Big South away games are available to watch through the Big South Network on ESPN+. To watch live Big South games on ESPN+, you need a subscriber. For more information how to subscribe,
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UP NEXT
Winthrop gets back to conference play as it heads toward the coast to North Charleston, S.C. for a three-game series with Charleston Southern. The series begins Friday, Mar. 27 with a 5 p.m. contest and will conclude on Saturday, Mar. 28 with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
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