Lady Eagles Drop Two to Wingate to Close Out Regular Season
April 18, 2009
Game 1 Final Stats
Game 2 Final Stats
Wingate, N.C. -- The Wingate softball team swept a doubleheader against Carson-Newman in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday afternoon. Wingate (28-11-1, 13-3 SAC) won the first game 5-4, which clinched sole possession of the regular season conference title. The Bulldogs followed by defeating the Lady Eagles (25-15, 9-7 SAC) 3-0 in game two.
In game one, senior outfielder Heather Winchester (Waxhaw, N.C.) had two homers and three RBI to lead the Wingate offense. Senior catcher Jamie Millen (Monroe, N.C.) also had an RBI and a run scored for the Bulldogs.
Sophomore outfielder Whitney Durham (Rossville, Ga.) was two-for-four with two RBI and a run scored to lead the Carson-Newman offense. Sophomore outfielder Leah Price (Spring City, Tenn.) was three-for-three with two runs scored.
The Eagles got on the board in the third on an RBI double from Durham to take a 1-0 lead.
Wingate responded in the third, plating three runs. The first scored on an RBI single from Millen. Winchester followed with a towering two-run homer to left to make it 3-1.
Wingate added a run in the fifth when junior infielder Julie Broyer (Hollister, Calif.) scored on an error. The Bulldogs got one more insurance run in the sixth on a solo homer from Winchester, her third of the year to make it 5-1.
Carson-Newman made it interesting in the seventh, stringing together five consecutive hits. An RBI single from Durham made it 5-2. Junior infielder Sarah Little (Calhoun, Ga.) followed with an RBI single to cut the lead to two. Freshman pitcher Mary Shealy (Clinton, S.C.) added a one-out sacrifice fly to make it 5-4.
With the tying run at third, Wingate sophomore Brittany Blankenship (Midlothian, Va.) induced an infield popup that she would take herself for the third out, clinching the regular season title.
Blankenship went the distance, allowing four runs on 12 hits while striking out one to improve to 15-7 on the year. Junior Stephanie Templeton (Ringgold, Ga.) took the loss, allowing five runs on seven hits in six innings of work while striking out seven, falling to 6-2 on the year.
In game two, Millen had a double and two RBI to lead the Wingate attack in the second game while senior third baseman Hallie Pettigrew (Uniontown, Ohio) was two-for-three with a run scored.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run double down the left field line from Millen.
Winchester added an RBI single in the fourth, driving in her fourth run of the afternoon to give Wingate a 3-0 lead.
That would be all sophomore Allison Smith (Daleville, Va.) would need. She went the distance, allowing only five hits while striking out seven. She lowers her league-best ERA to 0.88 on the year, while improving to 11-3. Shealy took the loss, allowing three runs on six hits in six innings while striking out two.
C-N returns to action in the SAC tournament on Thursday afternoon at Hickory, N.C.
