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Greeneville, Tenn.----Wingate University freshman left-hander TJ Rinoski (Yorktown, Va.) tossed a complete game three-hit shutout Saturday afternoon to lead the Bulldogs to a 5-0 victory at Tusculum College in game one of a South Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader. The Pioneers won game two 4-3 on a walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh from Heath Comerford. The game two loss, paired with Catawba’s doubleheader sweep over Mars Hill gives the Indians the regular season SAC title by one game over the Bulldogs. Wingate finishes the regular season 29-18 overall and 20-7 in the SAC. Tusculum moves to 27-16 overall and 16-11 in the conference. 

Game One: Wingate 5, Tusculum 0

Redshirt seniors Brian Yeung (Raleigh, N.C.) and Jason Hunter (West Chester, Pa.) each had a homer and two RBI to lead the Wingate offense in game one. Freshman outfielder Bill Krebs (West Chester, Pa.) added a hit and an RBI, while junior outfielder Eric Serra (Miami, Fla.) went two-for-four with a double and two runs scored. 

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 1-0 lead two batters into the contest. Serra started the game with a ground-rule double. He would score on an RBI single from Krebs to make it 1-0. 

Serra walked to start the fifth. After a strikeout and flyout, Yeung connected on his fourth homer of the year, a two-run shot to left to make it 3-0. 

Sophomore infielder Blake Prince (Winter Park, Fla.) led off the sixth with a single, then scored when Hunter connected on his fifth homer of the season, a two-run shot to right center to give the ‘Dogs a five-run lead. 

That would be plenty for Rinoski, who moved to 6-1 on the year. The freshman limited the Pioneers to just three singles, striking out one and walking four. He registered his third complete game of the season and second nine-inning complete game, while notching his first career complete game shutout. Rinoski finishes the regular season third in the league with a 1.76 ERA. Adam Sigmon took the loss, falling to 5-5. He allowed five runs on 10 hits in 7 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking two. 

Game Two: Tusculum 4, Wingate 3

Comerford was two-for-two with a homer and three RBI to lead the Tusculum offense. Pat Holleran added an RBI for the Pioneers, while Vinny Ferrara was three-for-three in game two. 

Krebs went four-for-four with a homer to lead the Wingate attack in game two. Serra also had a homer for the Bulldogs, while redshirt sophomore first baseman Brad Cherry (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) was one-for-two with an RBI. 

Tusculum jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second on a squeeze bunt from Holleran, plating Joe Polichetti from third. 

Wingate answered with two runs in the fourth to take the lead. Krebs started the frame with his third homer of the season, a solo shot to left to make it 1-1. A pair of walks, followed by an infield single from Prince loaded the bases. Cherry drew an RBI walk to give the ‘Dogs a 2-1 advantage. 

Serra led off the fifth with his sixth homer of the year, a solo shot to right to put Wingate on top by two. 

A single and walk in the Tusculum seventh put two runners with one out. Comerford went after the first pitch of the at-bat, connecting on a three-run homer down the right field line to give the Pioneers the walk-off victory. 

John-Austin Shepard got the win in relief, allowing a run on four hits in 3 2/3 innings of work, striking out three and walking one to improve to 6-1 on the year. Sophomore right-hander Brett Morgan (Clemmons, N.C.) took the loss, falling to 0-1. He allowed a run on a hit, giving up the game-winning homer to Comerford in the seventh. Junior right-hander Olen Little (Charlotte, N.C.) allowed a run on six hits in five innings of work, striking out two to finish the year as the league-leader with a 1.50 ERA. 

The Bulldogs and Pioneers will both play in next week’s Food Lion SAC Tournament at McNair Field in Forest City, N.C. Wingate is the number two seed in the tournament. The Bulldogs will take on fifth-seeded Lincoln Memorial Thursday at 3:45 p.m. Third-seeded Tusculum will face fourth-seeded Newberry Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Wingate won the SAC Tournament title in 2011, while advancing to championship Sunday last year, falling to SAC champions Tusculum in the title game.