Championship Central

Forest City, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs, co-champions of the South Atlantic Conference regular season, will begin play in the 2014 Food Lion SAC Tournament Thursday at 3:45 p.m., taking on fifth-seeded Tusculum College at McNair Field in Forest City, N.C. Wingate enters the tournament as the number two seed after going 28-14 in the regular season and 20-7 in conference play. Tusculum enters the tournament 26-19 overall and 14-14 in the SAC. Live stats will be available for every tournament game.

The Bulldogs won their last five conference games to finish in a tie atop the league standings with Catawba, the tournament's number one seed. Wingate lost only one of 10 SAC series in 2014, while notching a pair of three-game sweeps. One of those sweeps came against Tusculum in early March. The Bulldogs and Pioneers have met 11 times in the SAC Tournament, with Tusculum holding a 9-2 advantage. The last time the two teams met in the SAC Tournament was in the 2012 SAC championship game, which the Pioneers won 16-9.

Wingate has won five SAC Tournament titles, with the most recent championship coming in 2011. The Bulldogs notched their sixth regular season SAC title in 2014 and first since 2010. Wingate has finished in the top four in the league standings in each of the past six seasons, with two first place finishes and two second place finishes.

Wingate swept a three-game series against Catawba at Ron Christopher Stadium in early March. The 'Dogs took game one 6-2, getting seven strong innings from senior right-hander Olen Little (Charlotte, N.C.), who allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out eight. Senior outfielder Eric Serra (Miami, Fla.) had an RBI triple in the first inning to help Wingate jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first three frames.

The Bulldogs erased a 5-1 second inning deficit in game one of a doubleheader Saturday, getting 7 1/3 innings of shutout relief from senior right-hander Stephen Vaughan (Wilmington, N.C.), who allowed just one hit while striking out seven. Junior catcher Josh Clark (Clemmons, N.C.) drove in three runs, including the game-winning walk-off single in the ninth to give the 'Dogs a 6-5 win. Tusculum jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the final game, but an RBI single from junior Brad Cherry (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) in the fourth tied it at four. Sophomore outfielder Bill Krebs (West Chester, Pa.) delivered the game-winning walk-off RBI single in the seventh inning.

For the second straight year, the Bulldogs lead the SAC in ERA. Wingate has a 3.49 ERA this year, while posting a league-best 3.05 ERA in conference games. The Bulldogs lead the league and rank 21st nationally in strikeout to walk ratio. Little anchors the staff with a 9-1 record and 2.16 ERA, registering 52 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 75 innings. He ranks second in the SAC in wins, third in ERA and fourth in innings pitched. Little is 15-2 over his last two seasons with a 1.87 ERA.

Senior right-hander Ben Currie (Clemmons, N.C.) is 8-1 with a 2.77 ERA this season. He has a SAC-best five complete games and four shutouts. Currie is third in the league in wins, fifth in strikeouts and ninth in ERA. Vaughan is the third member of the weekend rotation, posting a 3.40 ERA, good for 16th in the SAC. He ranks 19th in the league with 44 strikeouts while walking just nine.

The Wingate bullpen has been anchored by freshman Brandon Donahue (Charlotte, N.C.) and sophomore Tyler Brown (Suffolk, Va.). Each has two wins and two saves this season, with Donahue registering a 2.45 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 11 innings. Brown has a team-high 12 appearances out of the bullpen, posting a 2.66 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings.

Serra leads the Bulldogs and ranks seventh in the SAC with a .368 average. He has a league-best six triples, ranking third in the league with a .651 slugging percentage, sixth with 41 RBI and eighth with six homers. Clark is hitting .323 with a pair of homers, ranking fourth in the SAC with 15 doubles and ninth with 39 RBI. Senior outfielder Justin Somers (Wilmington, N.C.) has started 20 games, hitting .324 with a triple, two homers, 16 RBI and 18 runs scored. Wingate is 4-0 with Somers hitting in the leadoff spot.

Junior shortstop Michael Godinez (Cutler Bay, Fla.) is hitting a career-best .316 this year, compiling seven doubles, 14 RBI and 27 runs scored. Junior outfielder Thomas Spitz (West Chester, Pa.) is hitting .310 with two homers, three triples and 18 RBI, ranking third on the team with 34 runs scored. Cherry is hitting .305 with 20 RBI and 19 runs scored, while hitting a team-best .341 in SAC games. Freshman infielder Shane Billings (Kernersville, N.C.) is hitting .297, ranking ninth in the SAC with a team-best 38 runs scored, while ranking second on the team with three homers and three triples.

The winner of Thursday's Wingate-Tusculum game will face the winner of Thursday night's Newberry vs. LMU contest. The loser of the Wingate-Tusculum game will take on the loser of the Catawba vs. Anderson contest. The double elimination tournament will take place Thursday through Sunday, with all game being held at McNair Field.

2014 Food Lion SAC Baseball Tournament
McNair Field (Forest City, N.C.)

Thursday, April 24
No. 1 Catawba vs. No. 6 Anderson, noon
No. 2 Wingate vs. No. 5 Tusculum, 3:45 p.m.
No. 3 Lincoln Memorial vs. No. 4 Newberry, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 25
Gm. 1 loser vs. Gm. 2 loser, noon
Gm. 1 winner vs. Gm. 3 loser, 3:45 p.m.
Gm. 2 winner vs. Gm. 3 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 26
Gm. 5 winner vs. Gm. 6 winner, noon
Gm. 6 loser vs. Gm. 4 winner, 3:45 p.m.
Gm. 7 loser vs. Gm. 8 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 27
Championship game, 1 p.m.
If necessary, 4 p.m.