ROCK HILL, S.C. — Carson-Newman earned the No. 4 seed and will play third-seeded Catawba in the first round of the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament, league officials announced Sunday.
The Eagles and Indians will square off on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at McNair Field in Forest City, N.C.
C-N went 15-9 in the SAC and are 29-15 overall. Catawba won two of three in their conference series against C-N this weekend.
Catawba went 16-8 in the SAC and 34-9 overall and has one non-conference game remaining. The Indians, ranked 28th nationally by Collegiate Baseball, are the tournament's defending champion.
The Wingate University Bulldogs, who claimed their first conference championship since 2000, are the top seed for the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament, which kicks off Thursday at McNair Field in Forest City, N.C.
Wingate, 28-16 overall with one non-conference game remaining Sunday and 19-5 in conference play, captured its fifth conference title in school history. The Bulldogs will face sixth-seed Lincoln Memorial University in the tournament's opening game on Thursday at noon.
The Railsplitters went 12-12 in conference play, securing the sixth seed on Saturday with a split against Lenoir-Rhyne University. LMU, 24-22 overall, is making its first appearance in the SAC baseball tournament and first conference tournament appearance since 1998.
Mars Hill College and Catawba College tied for second in the conference standings with 16-8 records. Mars Hill earned the second seed by virtue of its three-game sweep over Catawba earlier this season.
The Lions, 27-15 overall, will face fifth-seed Tusculum College in Thursday's opening-round action at 3:45 p.m. The Pioneers are 29-26 overall and 13-11 in the SAC.
The top six teams in the conference earned berths to the Food Lion SAC Tournament. The bracket format follows the NCAA regional six-team bracket.
Tournament play continues with three games on Friday with games at noon, 3:45 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Three more games are set for Saturday. The championship game will be played Sunday at 1 p.m., with a second game, if necessary, to follow.
The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship.
All-Tournament tickets will be available at the gate for $15 for adults and $7 for children and students. Daily ticket prices are $6 for adults and $3 for children and students.
Food Lion is the title sponsor for all South Atlantic Conference championships.
