The Lady Eagles softball team has been voted 7th in the Big South preseason poll. The Eagles finished 17-32 last season and 7-14 in the Big South but return the top eight batters and their entire pitching staff.
Among the eight starters returning this season All-Conference, Ansley Gilreath, junior infielder, is ready for a competitive season this year. “I’m looking forward to seeing how much better we are as a team since last year. The progress we’ve made and hard work we put in during the off season will show on the field,” Gilreath said. With three new freshman and many returning junior and senior players this year, Winthrop has been preparing during the off–season. “This team has so much unseen talent, and I’m ready to see how God uses us this year,” Gilreath said.
Since the season is only weeks away, the Lady Eagles have been busy practicing everyday. Gilreath noted it’s all about repetition and perfecting every little thing so that when the time comes it will be muscle memory for the players.
The softball team has been practicing many game–like situations to prepare for the real thing. “We take a lot of ground balls everyday because like Coach Thees says, ‘If we can field a hundred balls perfectly then the one or two ground balls we get in a single game should be easy. Hitting is the same way.’ We take a lot of reps and swings and see live pitching as much as possible,” Gilreath said.
When pitchers aren’t throwing in practice, Coach Thees throws to the girls live so they always see live pitching, to prepare for game situations.
Windy Thees was announced as head coach and Jamie Morgan announced as new assistant coach. This year will be Tori Walker’s third year as a Lady Eagle outfielder. “This season, I am most looking forward to seeing how we perform as a team. We got new coaches this year that have really been putting us to work, and I’m excited to see the outcome of all of our fall and preseason work, “ Walker said.
As Winthrop returns eight starters, eight players with at least 35 starts, and its entire pitching staff from a 2018 staff, the Eagles are looking at a good batting average for the season. “As a team, I think our strengths will be our bats. Everyone’s swings have improved from last year and we all have gained a lot more power,” Walker said.
The Eagles will face another competitive schedule as 10 of its 26 opponents of the year finished in the Top 100 RPI in 2018 and seven in the Top 75. There will also be three opponents that made the NCAA Regionals last year, 11 teams that finished in the Top 3 of their respective leagues, five of which played in their conference championship title game. Logan Webb, a sophomore catcher for the Eagles is prepared for another season. “This season, I’m looking forward to our team being able to compete with our conference and being able to play one last season with our seniors,” Logan Webb. “I think our strengths are our team chemistry and how we have each other’s backs.”
The Lady Eagles season begins Feb. 8 to 10 as the Eagles travel to Statesboro, GA for the Bash in the Boro. The Big South Conference play will begin Mar. 9 to 10 as the Eagles open at Campbell. The first home game of the season for the Eagles will be their second league series Mar. 15 to 16 when they host Longwood.
