SAC Baseball Championship Central

Rock Hill, S.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs will be the number two seed in this week’s Food Lion SAC baseball tournament, which begins Thursday at McNair Field in Forest City, N.C. Wingate will take on the fifth-seeded Railsplitters of Lincoln Memorial University Thursday at 3:45 p.m. The Bulldogs went 20-7 in the SAC, finishing alone in second place, one game behind Catawba. Wingate enters the tournament 29-18 overall. LMU is 22-23 on the season after going 13-14 in SAC play.

The Bulldogs won the 2011 Food Lion SAC baseball tournament, winning all four contests that year, defeating Catawba 7-1 on championship Sunday to earn a bid to the NCAA Regionals. Wingate advanced to championship Sunday once again last year, falling to Tusculum in the title game. The winner of the Wingate vs. LMU contest on Thursday will face the winner of the Tusculum vs. Newberry game Friday at 7:30 p.m. The loser will face the loser of the Carson-Newman vs. Catawba game Friday at 12 p.m.

After dropping two of their first three games in league play at Catawba, Wingate would go on to win 17 of its next 19 SAC contests. At one point, the Bulldogs had a 12-game SAC winning streak, sweeping three consecutive three-game series.

Wingate and Lincoln Memorial met in a three-game series at Harrogate in early March. The Railsplitters won the first game 7-6 in 13 innings. The Bulldogs responded by winning the final two games to take the series. Freshman left-hander TJ Rinoski (Yorktown, Va.) tossed a complete game-three hitter to give the Bulldogs the first win. Redshirt senior infielder Brian Yeung (Raleigh, N.C.) went three-for-four with two doubles and three RBI to lead the offense, while sophomore outfielder Thomas Spitz (West Chester, Pa.) was three-for-four with a double and two runs scored. Senior designated hitter Grant McCoury (Canton, Ohio) and sophomore catcher Josh Clark (Clemmons, N.C.) each added homers for Wingate. Junior right-hander Olen Little (Charlotte, N.C.) tossed seven scoreless innings in the 9-2 win, striking out five. Clark and sophomore infielder Blake Prince (Winter Park, Fla.) each had a homer and two RBI, while junior outfielder Eric Serra (Miami, Fla.) was three-for-five with a homer. Yeung went three-for-five with two more doubles.

The Bulldogs have been led by the pitching staff this season. Wingate has compiled a league-best 2.51 ERA in SAC contests, allowing the fewest runs (85), earned runs (62), walks (63) and homers (8). Little leads the league with a 1.50 ERA, compiling a 6-1 record with three complete games. In 10 starts this year, Little has not allowed more than three earned runs, while allowing zero or one earned run eight times. Rinoski is third in the SAC with a 1.76 ERA to go along with a 6-1 record and three complete games. In 56 1/3 innings of work, Rinoski has held opponents to a .182 batting average, allowing just 36 hits on the year. He has held opponents to three earned runs or less in all eight starts, allowing zero or one earned run five times. In nine appearances this year, Rinoski has not allowed more than seven hits, while holding opponents to five hits or less eight times. Junior right-hander Ben Currie (Clemmons, N.C.) is 6-2 with a 3.33 ERA this year, ranking 11th in the league. He leads the team and ranks third in the SAC with 75 2/3 innings pitched. He is eighth in the league with 60 strikeouts, while notching a pair of nine-inning complete games.

The Wingate bullpen has also been solid. Right-hander Kyle Brady (Cincinnati, Ohio) is 1-0 with a 1.02 ERA in 17 2/3 innings of work, adding a save. He has 22 strikeouts and just five walks on the year. Senior right-hander Blake Parsley (Charlotte, N.C.) has a 1.40 ERA in 19 1/3 innings of work. Redshirt senior right-hander Joshua Karr (Richmond, Va.) has three wins and a save on the year, posting a 2.70 ERA in 20 innings of work. Junior right-hander Stephen Vaughan (Wilmington, N.C.) has six starts and six relief appearances, compiling a 4-2 record while ranking eighth in the SAC with a 3.09 ERA.

Spitz leads the Wingate offense with a .373 average, ranking fourth in the SAC. He is second in the league with 72 hits, leading the SAC with seven triples. Spitz also has three homers, nine doubles, 31 RBI and 45 runs scored. He has reached base safely in 38 consecutive games. Prince is second on the team with a .354 average. He is second in the SAC with 18 doubles, adding four homers and a team-best 33 RBI. Freshman outfielder Bill Krebs (West Chester, Pa.) is hitting .319 with three homers, six doubles, 16 RBI and 23 runs scored.  Serra is hitting .303 with six homers, 11 doubles, 24 RBI and 36 runs. Yeung ranks sixth in the SAC with 16 doubles, ranking third on the team with 29 RBI. Clark is tied for the team lead with six homers.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Wingate University, ranked as the 6th “best value” in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves nearly 2,700 students on three campuses in Wingate, Matthews and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past six years.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing private colleges in the 2000’s with 52 selections. Among North Carolina’s colleges and universities, Wingate’s 52 Academic All-America® honorees is second (to Duke University) during this millennium. Wingate’s 61 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.