ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Interstat) — Winthrop visits UNC Asheville on Friday for a Big South series opener at Greenwood Baseball Field, pitting two teams traveling in opposite directions this season.

The Eagles (28-17) enter with a .622 winning percentage, while the Bulldogs (17-28) have lost six of their last seven games. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. under cloudy skies and a temperature of 62 degrees.

A predictive model from Interstat projects a 5-2 victory for Winthrop.

Eagles to watch

Colby McNeely, a right-handed pitcher, has been an erratic but occasionally dominant arm out of the Winthrop bullpen. In his last seven appearances, McNeely has logged 12 innings, allowing six earned runs with 10 strikeouts. His most recent outing Tuesday against North Carolina A&T featured two scoreless innings, scattering two hits and striking out three.

McNeely’s best performance during that stretch came April 19 against South Carolina Upstate, when he tossed four shutout innings with two strikeouts. However, inconsistency remains a concern: three of his last seven outings have resulted in multiple earned runs allowed, including a rough 0.1-inning appearance April 25 at Gardner-Webb where he was charged with three earned runs.

Bulldogs to watch

Lucas Boesen, a right-handed starter, anchors a UNC Asheville rotation that has struggled mightily. Over his last four outings, Boesen has compiled a 7.27 ERA across 17.1 innings, allowing 14 earned runs on 10 hits with 19 strikeouts.

His most recent start Tuesday at East Tennessee State offered a mixed bag: Boesen threw five innings, allowed zero hits but four earned runs and struck out five. Control issues have plagued him, but he demonstrated his ceiling April 10 at Longwood, when he fired six scoreless frames with eight strikeouts.

Recent results

Winthrop dropped its most recent game 9-3 to North Carolina A&T on Tuesday. McNeely, Shane Keup and Harrison Wilson combined for four scoreless innings of relief.

UNC Asheville fell 10-7 at East Tennessee State on the same day. Boesen took the loss, while Landon Gross and Ryland Howell combined for 2.2 scoreless innings.

The series continues Saturday and Sunday, both at Greenwood Baseball Field. Winthrop then travels to North Carolina on May 6, while UNC Asheville visits Western Carolina on May 5.