Eagles' pair garners weekly cross country honor

Winthrop cross country runners Brooke Spencer and Adam Freudenthal were named Big South runners of the week on Thursday.

Spencer, a senior from Greenville, helped the women's team finish second at the Furman Invitational on Saturday. She placed third in the 5-kilometer race, crossing the line in 19 minutes, 17.51 seconds.

Freudenthal, a sophomore from Spartanburg, led the men's team to a second-place finish at Furman as well. Freudenthal finished second in the 8-kilometer race less than one second behind the winner.

Both will be in action Saturday in the Winthrop Fall Classic. Race time is set for 10 a.m. for the men and 10:45 a.m. for the women.

BASEBALL — Winthrop baseball's annual Banana Split World Series is under way at The Winthrop Ballpark. The Gold team swept all three games from the White team this past weekend. Coach Mike McGuire's club defeated coach Kyle DiEduardo's squad by scores of 3-2, 13-5 and 5-4.

The final three games will be played at 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The games are open to the public, and admission is free. Box scores and statistics for the series can be found at www.winthropeagles.com and clicking on the “Baseball” page.

RAISING ARIZONA — Former Winthrop pitcher Heath Rollins is throwing in the Arizona Fall League for the Tampa Rays' affiliate, the Phoenix Desert Dogs. In his first appearance, he threw one inning of relief and gave up five runs on four hits and a walk.

Rollins, 24, went 9-11 with a 3.83 ERA in 28 games, including 22 starts for Double-A Montgomery (Ala.) this summer. He was promoted to Triple-A Durham and made three relief appearances. If he starts at Durham next season, he will play against the Charlotte Knights in the International League.

MEN'S SOCCER — The Eagles lead the Big South with a 3-0-1 record. Freshman goalkeeper Enrique Miranda posted his first two career shutouts in back-to-back Big South road games. He was named the league's player of the week. Miranda, from Norcross, Ga., made three saves in a 1-0 win at High Point and grabbed five saves to get a 2-0 shutout win over VMI on Sunday.

GET PACKING — The first 300 fans through the gate for Saturday's 3 p.m. match against Radford will receive a drawstring backpack.

HOME-COURT EDGE — The volleyball team is 8-0 at home. The team won seven matches at home all of last season. The Lady Eagles begin a stretch of five straight home matches against UNC Asheville (6-0 BSC) at 7 tonight. With a win, Winthrop (5-1 BSC) will move into a first-place tie with the Bulldogs. Liberty (5-2 BSC), the preseason favorite, has lost two straight matches.

If you dress like a superhero at Friday's match, you could win a prize.

WOMEN'S SOCCER — The team is in Virginia this weekend for games at Radford and VMI. If the Lady Eagles (0-2-1 BSC) are to make a move, they will have to start tonight at Radford (3-1 BSC). The team is in ninth place in the 10-team Big South and owns a 3-7-2 overall record. They were 4-8 through 12 games last year and finished 8-10-2.

THE GOOD — Winthrop has the second-most shutouts (four) in the BSC this year. Keeper Kelsey Weavil owns a 0.92 goals-against average, which ranks 89th in the country and second in the conference. She was named BSC player of the week on Sept. 15.

THE BAD — The Lady Eagles' offense has only scored seven goals in 12 matches (0.58 per game). Only High Point (three) has scored fewer goals in the conference.

AND, THE UGLY — Winthrop is currently on a four-game scoreless streak with losses to S.C. State, Gardner-Webb and Liberty and scoreless draw against High Point. The same scoring drought slowed the team last year. The Lady Eagles were shut out four games in a row Sept. 27 through October 8.

EAGLE MAN — Have you seen Winthrop's latest mascot? “Eagle Man,” adorned in tights and a garnet cape, appears at most home athletic events helping “Big Stuff” get the crowds riled up.