Rock Hill, S.C.— It's a battle of first place teams in the Big South Conference as Winthrop and USC Upstate square off in a key softball series Apr. 10-11 at Terry Field.
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Winthrop and USC Upstate are tied for first in the Big South standings at 7-2
- Winthrop and USC Upstate meet for the 44th, 45th and 46th time
- The Eagles hold a 23-20 lead in the all-time series, but the Spartans lead 20-12 since the school was renamed USC Upstate
- The Eagles and Spartans have faced off 11 times in the last two seasons as they've also squared off in the last two Big South title games
- Eagles are coming off a 5-2 loss to Wofford in a midweek contest as the Terriers scored three runs in the top of the seventh
- Winthrop is ranked 3rd in the Big South with a team batting average of .289, fourth in runs scored and leads the conference in home runs (37)
- Peyton Bryden extended her streak of reaching base safely to 15 games vs. Wofford, the longest streak by any Eagle this season and longest since 2022 when Paige Rivas reached in 15 straight
- She now has 95 hits in her career and leads the team in RBI (36)
- Tia Beckham recently had a two-homer game at Charleston Southern and now has 19 in her career, moving into a tie for 10th all-time in program history
- Her nine home runs on the season are one shy of her single-season best
- She became the 23rd player in program history to reach 70 career RBI as an Eagle
- 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
- Winthrop has four players with seven or more home runs and three with eight or more
- In addition to Beckham's nine, Darrah Nickens and Annelisa Winebarger have eight while Bryden has seven
- Freshman Rebecca Amos leads the team with a .382, but had an eight-game hitting streak come to an end vs. Wofford
- Amos has a six-game hitting streak in league play
- She also leads the team in runs scored and stolen bases with 16
- Her 37 runs rank third in the Big South and are a program record for runs scored by a freshman (breaking the record set by Tessa Thomas in 2006)
- The 16 stolen bases are tied for the program's freshman record with Susan Funderburk (1994)
- Bryden's two hit day vs. Wofford pushed her into second on the team in batting at .362
- Beckham is next in batting average at .353 followed by Nickens at .346
- Amos is third in the league in runs followed by Bryden in 4th
- Bryden is 5th in RBI while Beckham and Nickens are tied for 6th
- Winthrop has three players with 30 or more RBI in a single-season for the second straight year and the second time since 2017
- Lonna Addison is 13-5 on the year in the circle with a 3.57 ERA and 87 strikeouts to 42 walks
- Her 3.57 ERA ranks 4th in the Big South and she's second in strikeouts and tied for first in wins
- Emmy Cardenas has 16 starts and is 5-5 with a 3.90 ERA
- 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
- 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 game vs. UNCG marks the 2,443rd game in program history as the Eagles hold an all-time record of 1,297-1,142-3
BIG SOUTH ONLY
- Have back-to-back conference series sweeps and are sitting 7-2
- It is the first back-to-back conference series sweeps since 2008
- The 7-2 start is the best since the 2009 team started 8-1
- Eagles have an all-time record of 320-311 in Big South regular season games
- The 320 wins are the most in league history (Radford is next with 304)
- Annelisa Winebarger is batting a team-best .462 in nine league games with six home runs, 11 runs and 13 RBI
- Amos is batting .419 with 11 runs and seven RBI
- Bryden and Beckham are batting .400 and Bryden is tied for team-lead with 11 runs
- Averaging 6.7 runs per game and batting .339 as a team
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 117-141 (182-209) 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
- Rebecca Amos
- Broke the program's record for runs by a freshman (37 – previously held by Tessa Thomas in 2006 with 35)
- Tied the program's record for stolen bases by a freshman (16 – held by Susan Funderburk in 1994)
- On the season she has three triples, which is one shy of tying the freshman mark of four set by Kim Cowgill in 1993
- 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 (159)
- Reached 50 career RBI after driving in five on the opening weekend (81)
- She also made her 100th start in the game vs. St. John's
- Over the weekend she reached 80 career runs (81)
- Tia Beckham (includes stats from N.C. State)
- Reached 50th career hit after going 2-for-3 against Robert Morris (79)
- After her two home run performance at Charleston Southern, she now has nine on the year and 19 in her career (all at Winthrop)
- Now has 73 RBI as an Eagle in 88 games played
- As an Eagle she also has 24 doubles (18th on the program all-time doubles list)
- 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 50th appearance as an Eagle at Queens
- In her collegiate career she has 86 appearances
- Earned her 30th collegiate victory on Mar. 6 in a 1-0 win over Georgia State
- Has 178 strikeouts as an Eagle and 424 in her career
- Has 10 complete games on the year and 23 in her career (15 as an Eagle)
- Peyton Bryden
- Was 1-for-4 against UNCG and now has 93 hits in her career
- Has played in 110 games and was 98 starts
- Joined the 20-double club last weekend as she now has 21 in her career
- Has career-highs in runs (36) and RBI (36)
- Set a career-high in home runs with seven this season, giving her 12 for her career
- Currently on a career-best 15 games streak for reaching base safely
WALK-OFF WINS
- Feb. 13 vs. Le Moyne
- The Eagles scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to earn a 7-4 victory
- Ali Bunch hit a three-run home run to center field with two outs
- Feb. 20 vs. George Washington
- The Eagles scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to earn a 4-3 win
- The first two batters of the inning were out before the Eagles started the rally
- The first run was plated by an Annelisa Winebarger single to the pitcher
- Then Peyton Bryden provided a two-run double for the win
- Mar. 6, vs. ETSU
- Eagles led the game 7-0 before ETSU stormed back and tied the game in the top of the seventh
- In the bottom of the eighth, Grayson Buckner was placed on second and moved to third on a ground out
- Emma Roberson singled up the middle to score Buckner for the win
JOIN THE EAGLE CLUB
The Eagle Club is the official fundraising arm of Winthrop Athletics. Your generosity directly supports Winthrop Athletics and helps provide our student-athletes with the resources they need to succeed on and off the field. From facility upgrades and enhanced game-day experiences to scholarships, equipment, travel, and academic support, every dollar makes a difference
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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
The Eagles step away from league play for a midweek contest on the road at Charlotte on Tuesday, Apr. 14 at 6 p.m.
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