The Winthrop University baseball team will travel to Greenville, South Carolina, for a mid-week game against Michigan State at Fluor Field on Tuesday evening. The matchup features the Eagles, who have started their season with a 9-2 record, facing the Spartans, who are currently 2-7.
Winthrop and Michigan State first played each other in 1996, with Winthrop winning that contest 6-2. Their most recent meeting was last year at the same venue, where Michigan State defeated Winthrop 7-0. Overall, Winthrop holds a narrow lead in the all-time series between the two teams at 3-2.
The Eagles enter this game on a seven-game winning streak. In their recent series against Morehead State and Marshall, they scored a combined total of 56 runs over four games. The team leads the nation in hit by pitches with 40 and has the highest scoring average in the Big South Conference at 9.5 runs per game.
Jaylen Hernandez was named Big South Player of the Week for his performance during the week of March 3. He batted .538 with seven hits, including two doubles and three home runs, while driving in ten runs and extending his hitting streak to eight games.
Several players have received preseason honors. Gabe Natividad was ranked as the No. 19 second baseman nationally by D1Baseball and is fourth among mid-major second basemen. Josh Skowronski earned preseason All-Big South recognition and was listed as an MLB Draft Gem by Baseball America. Harrison Wilson is also on the Big South Preseason All-Conference team and is included on the NCBWA Stoppers of the Year Watchlist along with pitchers Shane Keup, Walker Brodt, Colby McNeely, and Ben Rehkow.
Head coach Mike McGuire returned to lead Winthrop last season after previously serving as head coach at USC Upstate for five years. This marks his third stint with Winthrop’s baseball program; he had earlier served as an assistant coach from 1997-2002 and again from 2006-2011.
The Eagles’ roster this season includes only sixteen returning players from last year alongside twenty-two new additions. Despite these changes, nearly seventy percent of last season’s offensive production returns to the lineup.
Season tickets for Winthrop baseball are available starting at $75 for thirty-two home games. Single-game tickets can also be purchased online or through the ticket office at (803) 323-2345.
Supporters can join The Eagle Club—the official fundraising arm of Winthrop Athletics—which helps provide resources such as scholarships, equipment, facility upgrades, travel support, and academic assistance for student-athletes.
Winthrop Athletics has launched WIN: Winthrop’s Impact Network—a philanthropic society designed to support its NCAA Division I programs and nearly three hundred student-athletes—to help generate revenue necessary for competing in championships and advancing in NCAA tournaments.
For updates on Winthrop baseball news and events, fans are encouraged to follow the program on social media platforms including Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
