Wingate, N.C.----The 16th-ranked Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne University swept a doubleheader over number 19 Wingate University in South Atlantic Conference softball action Wednesday afternoon. Lenoir-Rhyne won both games 5-0 to improve to 31-5 overall and 4-0 in the SAC. Wingate falls to 25-5 on the year and 2-2 in the SAC.
Game #1
#16 Lenoir-Rhyne 5, #19 Wingate 0
Junior infielder Brandi Haithcock (Snow Camp, N.C.) was two-for-four with a double and two RBI to lead the LRU offense. Sophomore infielder Carlee Carpenter (Newton, N.C.) added a pair of hits and an RBI for the Bears, while senior designated player Ashley Duckworth (Conover, N.C.) was one-for-three with two runs scored.
Senior outfielder LaRonda McClain (Kings Mountain, N.C.) was two-for-three to lead the Wingate offense. The Bulldogs had three errors in the first game and left nine runners on base.
Lenoir-Rhyne scored three runs in the second, taking advantage of three Wingate errors. The first run came across when freshman outfielder Megan Laxton (Taylorsville, N.C.) reached on an error, scoring Duckworth to make it 1-0. Carpenter added an RBI single, while the third run of the inning would score on another Wingate error. The Bears plated two more runs in the third on two-run double to left from Haithcock, pushing the lead to five.
Sophomore right-hander Dawon Millwood (Hixson, Tenn.) got the win, allowing only three hits in seven innings. She struck out seven and walked five, improving to 13-2 overall on the year. Junior right-hander Brittany Blankenship (Midlothian, Va.) took the loss, allowing five runs (two earned) on seven hits in seven innings of work. Blankenship struck out five while falling to 13-3 overall.
Game #2
#16 Lenoir-Rhyne 5, #19 Wingate 0
Sophomore catcher Sarah Atkins (Newport News, Va.) blasted a three-run homer in the seventh to lead the Bears to another five-run victory. Junior shortstop Kat Rivers (Royston, Ga.) added two hits and an RBI for the Bears.
Four different Bulldogs had a hit in the second game, while Wingate stranded eight runners on base and committed a pair of errors. LRU scored a run in the third on an RBI single from Rivers. The single run would represent all the scoring until the seventh.
Senior outfielder Brittany Cherry (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) scored with two outs in the seventh on a Wingate error to make it 2-0. Atkins followed with a three-run shot to left, her fourth homer of the year to make the final score 5-0.
Freshman right-hander Alex Smith (Cocoa, Fla.) got the win, improving to 13-3 overall on the year. She allowed four hits in seven innings of work, while striking out three. Junior right-hander Allison Smith (Daleville, Va.) took the loss, allowing five runs (one earned) on six hits. Smith struck out five, falling to 12-2 overall on the season.
Both teams face SAC foes in their next contests. The Bulldogs return to action Saturday, traveling to Mars Hill College for a 1 p.m. start. Lenoir-Rhyne is also in action Saturday, traveling to Tusculum College for a 2 p.m. start.
(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)
