ROCK HILL, S.C. — The Carson-Newman Eagles are the fifth seed and will face second-seeded Wingate University in the first round of the 2011 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament, which begins Wednesday at McNair Field in Forest City, N.C.
The Eagles, who went 20-26 overall and 15-12 in SAC play, won two of three against the Bulldogs during the regular season. Wingate, the 2010 conference champions, finished second with a 17-10 conference record and a 30-20 overall record under first-year head coach Jeff Gregory.
First pitch for C-N's matchup with Wingate is set for 3:45 p.m.
Catawba College, which won its seventh conference championship in school history, is the top seed.
The Indians, who went 23-4 in conference play and 36-8 overall, are the two-time defending tournament champions. Catawba is ranked seventh in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II poll and 15th by Collegiate Baseball. The Indians will face sixth-seeded Newberry College in the tournament's opening game at noon on Wednesday. Catawba swept Newberry in their regular-season series.
The Newberry Wolves went 14-13 in conference play and 22-25 overall under first-year coach Russell Triplett.
Lincoln Memorial University and Tusculum College tied for third place in the conference standings with 16-11 records. The Railsplitters, 28-20 overall, earned the third seed by virtue of their three-game sweep over Tusculum on March 18 and 19. Tusculum is 31-14 overall and received votes in the most recent NCBWA poll.
The Railsplitters and Pioneers will face each other in the nightcap game at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
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 Thursday with games at noon, 3:45 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Three more games are set for Friday. The championship game will be played Saturday 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 $16 for adults and $8 for children and students. Fans showing their Food Lion MVP card can save $2 on the price of an adult All-Tournament ticket.
Daily ticket prices are $8 for adults and $4 for children and students. Fans showing their Food Lion MVP card can save $1 off the price of an adult ticket.
Wednesday, April 20
Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament
At McNair Field, Forest City, N.C.
Game 1: No. 1 Catawba vs. No. 6 Newberry, Noon
Game 2: No. 2 Wingate vs. No. 5 Carson-Newman, 3:45 p.m.
Game 3: No. 3 Lincoln Memorial vs. No. 4 Tusculum, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 21
Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament
At McNair Field, Forest City, N.C.
Game 4: Catawba / Newberry loser vs. Wingate / Carson-Newman loser, Noon
Game 5: Catawba / Newberry winner vs. Lincoln Memorial / Tusculum loser, 3:45 p.m.
Game 6: Wingate / Carson-Newman winner vs. Lincoln Memorial / Tusculum winner, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 22
Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament
At McNair Field, Forest City, N.C.
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, Noon *
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 3:45 p.m. *
Game 9: Game 8 winner vs. Game 7 loser, 7:30 p.m. *
Saturday, April 23
Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament
At McNair Field, Forest City, N.C.
Championship Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 1 p.m. *
Game 11 (if necessary), Game 10 winner vs. Game 10 loser, 4 p.m.
* If five teams remain after Game 6, and two after Game 9 OR if five teams remain after Game 6, and three after Game 9, then alternate brackets will be used.
