Brevard, N.C.----The Wingate University softball team split a South Atlantic Conference twin bill Saturday at Brevard College. The Tornados won the opener 1-0 in nine innings, while the visiting Bulldogs rallied for a 7-5 victory in the nightcap.
Wingate is 31-11 overall and 6-6 in the SAC. Brevard is 17-20 overall and 5-7 in the SAC. The Bulldogs host SAC foe Newberry College Wednesday at 2 p.m. The Newberry twin bill is Senior Day and Student-Athlete Appreciation Day at Wingate University. The Wingate Sports Network will provide a live pay-per-view video broadcast for the April 14 twin bill. Brevard visits Carson-Newman College Wednesday at 2 p.m.
Game #1
Brevard 1, Wingate 0 (9 innings)
Wingate out-hit the Tornados 5-2 in the first game, getting two hits each from senior outfielder LaRonda McClain (Kings Mountain, N.C.) and senior shortstop Debra Grijalva (San Jose, Calif.).
The game went scoreless until the bottom of the ninth. Brevard had freshman infielder Nicole Heusel (Lawrenceville, Ga.) placed on second via the international tiebreaker rule. She went to third on a sacrifice, then scored on Brevard’s second hit of the game, an RBI single from sophomore outfielder Chelsi Mallory (Mechanicsville, Va.) for the 1-0 win.
Junior Martika Elmore (Fayetteville, N.C.) got the win for the Tornados, improving to 13-10 overall. She went all nine innings, allowing five hits while striking out 12 and walking six. Junior right-hander Brittany Blankenship (Midlothian, Va.) takes the tough loss, allowing one unearned run in 8 1/3 innings of work. The All-SAC performer allowed only two hits while striking out four. She falls to 15-5 overall on the year.
Game #2
Wingate 7, Brevard 5
Sophomore catcher Brittany Barrineau (Monroe, N.C.) went two-for-four with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored to lead the Wingate offense. Senior outfielder Emily Chavis (Berkeley Lake, Ga.) added a three-for-four day with an RBI and a run scored.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first. Barrineau and Chavis got it started with back-to-back RBI singles. The third run would score on an error, while the fourth would score on a bases-loaded hit batsman. Junior infielder Gina Ager (Columbia, Md.) made it 5-0 with an RBI single. The final run of the inning scored on another Brevard error to make it 6-0.
The Tornados answered with three runs in the second. The first would score on an error, while Heusel added a two-run single to cut the Wingate lead in half. Brevard cut the lead to one when two runs scored on a groundout in the third, making it 6-5. Barrineau added some insurance in the fourth, blasting her eighth homer of the year, a solo shot to make it 7-5.
Blankenship got the win in relief, allowing one earned run in five innings while striking out six, improving to 16-5 overall on the year. Senior Liz Houser (Greenville, N.C.) took the loss, falling to 3-7 overall. She allowed six runs (four earned) on five hits in one-third of an inning.
(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.)
