Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop returns to conference action Friday afternoon with a three-game series at Charleston Southern beginning Friday, March 27, at 5 p.m.
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Winthrop is coming off an 8-5 midweek loss against Queens
- Winthrop and Charleston Southern have met 124 times as the Eagles lead the all-time series 82-42
- Over the last 10 meetings, the Bucs have won six of them
- Since the league moved to three-game series, Charleston Southern has taken seven of them and the Eagles have won six
- Winthrop's last series win at Charleston Southern came in 2021, taking the series 2-1
- Peyton Bryden's single in the first extended her streak of reaching base safely to 10 games
- The single was also the 90th hit of her career
- Tia Beckham hit her 17th career home run and sits 13th on Winthrop's all-time list
- She also became the 23rd player in program history to reach 70 career RBI as an Eagle
- She has now hit a two-run home run in back-to-back games
- Darrah Nickens extended her streak of reaching base safely to eight games
- Eagles swept their Big South Conference series against Gardner-Webb last weekend
- The Eagles batted .388 with 10 extra base hits, scoring 17 runs in three games
- Freshman Rebecca Amos leads the team with a .383 average and 12 stolen bases and tied for the team-lead with 32 runs
- Bryden is tied for second on the team with a .373 average, leads the team in RBI with 32 and is tied for the lead in home runs with seven
- Junior Darrah Nickens right behind Bryden with a .368 batting average, is third in runs (24), tied for lead in home runs (7) and second in RBI (31)
- The seven home runs and 32 RBI are career-highs for Bryden
- Winthrop now has three players with 30 or more RBI in a single-season for the second straight year and the second time since 2017
- Beckham had her first four-hit game of the season last vs. Bucknell as she's batting .349 and third on the team with 30 RBI
- It was her second four-hit game of her career and she now has eight multi-hit games this season
- She now has 70 RBI over the last two seasons, becoming the first player since Maddie Antone to combine for 70 or more RBI in two straight seasons (Antone's was split up with an injury as she had 36 in 2015, missed 2016 and then returned in 2017 with 35)
- The last two do it in consecutively is Chelsey Schoenfeldt in 2012 and 2013 when she combined for 91
- Beckham homered in four consecutive games, the best streak on record in program history
- The streak is tied for the top home run streak in the nation this season with UCLA's Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery
- 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 Nickens in 4th and Bryden 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 while Nickens is 6th and Beckham is 7th
- Lonna Addison is 10-5 on the year in the circle with a 3.86 ERA and 76 strikeouts to 38 walks
- Her 3.86 ERA ranks 3rd in the Big South and she's second in strikeouts and wins
- Emmy Cardenas has 14 starts and is 4-5 with a 4.01 ERA (ranked 5th 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 .295, third in runs scored and leads the conference in home runs (32)
- 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
- The opening game of the Charleston Southern series will mark the 2,440th game in program history as the Eagles hold an all-time record of 1,294-1,142-3
BIG SOUTH ONLY
- Eagles have played six league games and are 4-2
- Have won six of the last seven regular season conference games dating back to last season
- Eagles have an all-time record of 317-311 in Big South regular season games
- The 317 wins are the most in league history (Radford is next with 301)
- Annelisa Winebarger is batting a team-best .667 in six league games with four home runs, eight runs and six RBI
- Bryden is batting .500 with seven runs and eight RBI
- Eagles looking for first road series win since claiming a 2-1 series win at Gardner-Webb in 2025 (Mar. 21-22)
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 113-140 (178-208) 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
- Rebecca Amos – Freshman – Outfielder
- Big South Freshman of the Week (Mar. 23)
- Big South Freshman of the Week (Feb. 24)
- Tia Beckham – Junior – Outfielder
- 2026 Big South Preseason All-Conference Team
- Peyton Bryden –Junior – Third Baseman
- Big South Player of the Week (Mar. 23)
- Darrah Nickens – Redshirt Junior – Utility/Outfielder
- Big South Co-Player of the Week (Feb. 17)
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 at Queens she now has seven on the year and 17 in her career (all at Winthrop)
- Now has 70 RBI as an Eagle in 83 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 81 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 another at Queens as she now has 90 in her career
- Has played in 105 games and was 93 starts
- Joined the 20-double club last weekend as she now has 20 in her career
- Has career-highs in runs (32) and RBI (32)
- 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
Eagles and the Bucs conclude the series with a doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 28 starting at 1 p.m.
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