On March 23 the Eagles walked away with their first home conference win of the 2021 season after beating Charleston Southern 4-1. This was the first time the Eagles competed against the Buccaneers since 2019, where Winthrop was victorious in three consecutive games.
After a strong start to the week, the Eagles fell short against USC Upstate on March 26, finishing 5-0 in the two-day series opener.
Juniors Joey Tepper and Dillon Morton and Senior Spencer Yankle were all 1-for-4 at bat.
Morton was left on base in Winthrop’s half of the first inning after doubling to left field with two outs.
The Spartans scored their first run in the third inning. By the bottom of the fourth, Tepper had a double down the left field line, putting himself in scoring position with no outs, but even after advancing to third he was stranded on base, keeping USC Upstate in the lead 1-0.
In the top of the fifth, Winthrop committed two errors, leading Upstate to tack on two insurance runs.
Things were looking good for the Eagles in their half of the fifth with bases loaded as Tepper was up at the plate, but the inning ended without any runs when Tepper went down on a 3-2 count.
Upstate increased their lead to 4-0 in the sixth inning, and then again getting 5-0 in the ninth, where the game finally ended in the Spartan’s favor.
The loss put the Eagles 6-7 in the season, but luckily, they had two chances at home on Saturday March 27 to redeem themselves. After back-to-back games at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., the Eagles were successful in defeating the Spartans.
Saturday afternoon opened with freshman Luke Hannum hit by a pitch, giving Winthrop its first base runner of the afternoon. Hannum moved to second when Tepper hit a single.
After Morton and Yankle got out, freshman Andrew Jenner reached first on an error, which sent Tepper to third and Hannum home, scoring the first run of the game.
Freshman Ty Hooks finished off the inning with a two-out, two-RBI single to right, bringing home Tepper and Jenner, giving Winthrop a solid 3-0 lead into the second inning.
The Spartans made their first run during the second inning. The next run was from the Eagles in the fourth inning, where Hooks came home after freshman Joseph Szvetitz singled to center, making the score 4-1.
Szvetitz also led the Eagles’ half of the ninth inning with a hit down the left field line, sending Tepper home for a 5-1 game. In the ninth inning Upstate actually got a run across on a fielder’s choice, but the game was soon over with Winthrop winning 5-2.
Later that afternoon, after an uneventful first inning, there was a bit of excitement when a lightning delay paused the game for an hour and eleven minutes.
Once play resumed, Szvetitz put together a one-out single to right on an 0-2 count and advanced to second base on an error by the Spartans during the third inning. With Szvetitz in scoring position, Hannum hit up the left side, taking Szvetitz home and giving Winthrop a 1-0 lead.
After freshman Willie Lumpkin came in to pitch during the fifth inning, the Spartans tied the game 1-1 in the sixth inning.
Jenner walked to lead off Winthrop’s half of the eighth inning. Yankle doubled to left field, putting Jenner in scoring position with no outs. Freshman Ethan Fewell loaded the bases after a walk on a full count. With two outs, Will Martin drew the bases-loaded walk, putting Winthrop ahead 2-1 late in the game.
Senior Colten Rendon sat the Spartans down in order in the top of the ninth, giving Winthrop the 2-1 win.
Proud head coach Tom Riginos wrote on Twitter, “There was some toughness going on at the Winthrop Ballpark today,” after the Eagles’ weekend sweep.
With Upstate under their belt, the Eagles are 8-7 overall and 5-2 in the Big South Conference. The Eagles travel to Campbell on April 1-2 for a single game on Friday and another double-header on Saturday.
