WILMINGTON, North Carolina – UNCW Head Softball Coach Kristy Norton has announced the addition of Mary Whitaker Jones and Emily Winstead to the Seahawks' roster for the 2022 season.

Winstead, a 5-8 pitcher from Bunn, N.C., and Jones, a 5-1 infielder from Rocky Mount, N.C., become the eighth and ninth student-athletes to join the Seahawks for the 2022 campaign.

"We are ecstatic that these two student-athletes are choosing to enter college a year early and join our program," UNCW Head Coach Kristy Norton said. "The ceiling is exceptionally high for these two student-athletes."

An All-State and All-Conference selection as a sophomore, Winstead has authored a 0.45 career earned run average for Coach Chuck Braswell at Rocky Mount Academy. The righthander has also registered 383 strikeouts in 157 career innings, while holding opponents to a .105 batting average.

During her senior season, Winstead has posted a 0.58 earned run average with 61 strikeouts.

"Emily is a deep thinker and her game will just continue to get better because of how she analyzes her performances," Norton said. "She is such a competitor, has a live arm and will contribute right away in the circle."

A member of the Lady Lightning Gold club team, Winstead will join her older sister, Elizabeth, on the Seahawks' 2022 roster after Elizabeth signed to play at UNCW in November.

Jones, meanwhile, has fashioned a .450 batting average in her career at Rocky Mount Academy with 55 hits and 79 runs scored. In her senior campaign, the middle infielder has posted an 8-for-15 effort at the plate with four triples and four runs batted in.

"Mary Whitaker will be a sparkplug for this team," according to Norton. "She plays with an enormous amount of grit. She will be an asset on both sides of the ball."
Jones will become the second member of her family to play at UNCW as her older sister, Casey, is a junior on the squad.

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