Wingate, N.C.----The 19th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs host number 16 Lenoir-Rhyne University in South Atlantic Conference softball action Wednesday afternoon. The Bulldogs enter the game 25-3 overall and 2-0 in the SAC. Lenoir-Rhyne is 29-5 on the season and 2-0 in the conference. The Wingate Sports Network will provide a live pay-per-view video broadcast of Wednesday's doubleheader.

The Bulldogs went 6-0 last week, sweeping three doubleheaders, including a sweep over Tusculum College in the SAC opener Saturday afternoon. Junior outfielder Emily Chavis (Berkeley Lake, Ga.) was two-for-three with two RBI to lead the Bulldogs in the 6-3 game one victory over the Pioneers. Senior shortstop Deb Grijalva (San Jose, Calif.) and sophomore outfielder Jessica Bowen (Matthews, N.C.) added an RBI and a run scored each, while senior outfielder LaRonda McClain (Kings Mountain, N.C.) scored twice. Junior right-hander Brittany Blankenship (Midlothian, Va.) picked up her 13th win of the year, allowing four hits while striking out six.

Junior right-hander Allison Smith (Daleville, Va.) notched a two-hit shutout in the second game, striking out 10. Chavis once again had two hits and an RBI, while sophomore catcher Brittany Barrineau (Monroe, N.C.) added an RBI double.

Junior infielder Gina Ager (Columbia, Md.) leads the Bulldogs with a .379 batting average, while McClain leads the team with 32 hits, 24 runs scored and eight stolen bases. Grijalva is hitting .369 with four homers, three triples and 24 RBI. Barrineau is hitting .354 with a team-high seven homers and 31 RBI.

Blankenship and Smith anchor the pitching staff, which leads the SAC with a 1.23 ERA. Smith was named the SAC Pitcher of the Week for her efforts last week, going 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA. She has earned the honor twice this season, as has Blankenship. Blankenship leads the SAC with 13 wins, ranking second with a 0.86 ERA. Smith is third in the league with 12 wins, while ranking ninth with an ERA of 1.74. Both rank in the top 10 in the league in strikeouts and opponents’ batting average.

The Bulldogs and Bears met three times in 2009, with Wingate winning all three games in Hickory. The Bulldogs swept the regular season doubleheader, winning 7-5 and 7-2. Myers and Grijalva each homered in both games for the Bulldogs, combining to drive in eight runs on the day. Blankenship got both wins, allowing three earned runs in 13 innings of work, while striking out 10. 

The teams also met in the 2009 Food Lion SAC tournament in Hickory, with Wingate winning 8-0 in five innings. Grijalva had two hits, two RBI and a run scored, while McClain added two hits, an RBI and two runs scored. Smith tossed a three-hit shutout, while striking out three.

Lenoir-Rhyne is led by junior infielder Kat Rivers (Royston, Ga.), who is hitting .473 with 15 homers and 37 RBI. Senior outfielder Ashley Duckworth (Conover, N.C.) is hitting .354 with 13 homers and 29 RBI for the Bears. Sophomore outfielder Tameron Sealey (Mount Holly, S.C.) leads the team with 34 runs scored and 18 stolen bases, while sophomore infielder Carlee Carpenter (Newton, N.C.) is hitting .388 with five homers and 27 RBI. Lenoir-Rhyne leads the league with 235 runs scored, 317 hits and 57 homers. 

WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,159 students offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, career discovery and community service.

Wingate offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, communication, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the school awards the doctor of pharmacy and the doctor of education degrees.

Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past three years.

Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 34 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 43 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.

(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.)