Baseball | 11/9/2015 7:42:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame inductee Bruce Benfield ('76) was All-Conference and All-Region X as a sophomore pitcher for head baseball coach Steve Poston (now Wingate's vice-president and director of athletics). During his second (and final) year as a Bulldog, Benfield was 9-0 overall and two saves and a 1.78 ERA. His career record was 16-3 overall with 101 career strikeouts.
 
Benfield won the Geddings Award as Wingate's best overall student-athlete in 1976. The same year, he received the Hendricks Award as the school's top male student at the May Commencement Exercises. Benfield was a respected member of the campus community, as he served as president of the "W" Club, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Men's Dorm Council.
 
In 2004, Benfield and business partner Carole Joyner formed Joyner Benfield Distinctive Land and Waterscapes. He has been married 34 years to Maureen Wehunt of Chattanooga, Tenn. The Benfields have three children and three grandchildren. His son Kevin Benfield (Wingate '06) played four seasons on the Bulldog men's soccer team.
 
The Wingate Sports Information department caught up with Benfield to get the latest on his life. A transcript of the interview follows...
 
What are you doing now?
 
I have been in the landscaping business for the last 35 years. For the past 12 years, I co-own a landscape company with my business partner Carole Joyner. Joyner Benfield is a landscape design, build and install company in Charlotte.
 
Most memorable athletic experience at Wingate?
 
My sophomore year, when we won the conference championship. We were playing a double header against North Greenville and only had to win one game to clinch the title. We lost the first game. Jimmy Armstrong pitched a great first game. I pitched the second game and I was lucky enough to win.
 
Most memorable non-athletic experience at Wingate?
 
As president of several clubs at Wingate, I was able to have many different experiences outside of baseball. Most of my most memorable experiences involved Dean Haskins and other dorm counselors. My sophomore year, Dean Haskins took several of us to Myrtle Beach for the weekend. A month later, Dean Haskins took me and two other dorm counselors to a Wake Forest football game.
 
Who was your favorite professor?
 
Other than Steve Poston, Dean Haskins did more for me than anyone. I did not have any classes with him, but he gave me the opportunity to be involved with many outside activities. He would lend me his car to go on dates and other activities.
 
One word to describe your personality?
 
Practical
 
What would you most like people to know about you?
 
I would like people to know that I graduated with a B.S. Degree in education. Wingate gave me a chance to continue my dreams of playing college baseball and earning a degree. My parents told me…with an education, you can do whatever you want. They were correct.
 
If you could be a fictional character for a day who would it be and why?
 
Superman, cause he can do it all…and isn't that what we all want!
 
What was your first pair of shoes you wore when you first started playing your sport?
 
My first baseball shoe were Rawlings. They were black with plastic cleats.
 
Why would you recommend Wingate to others?
 
I have seen Wingate grow from a Junior College to a University. There are so many degrees you can earn at Wingate. The faculty and the school are genuinely concerned about you as a student and a person. Wingate offers the best of both worlds.
 
Describe your experience at Wingate in one word?
 
Beneficial!
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS HALL OF FAME
 
Five new members will be added to the Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies on Friday evening, Nov. 13. In addition, the University will recognize the 1967-68 men's hoops team as a Team of Distinction during the event. The WU Sports Hall of Fame ceremonies are sponsored by OrthoCarolina.
 
The Wingate Sports Hall of Fame class of 2015 includes baseball pitcher Bruce Benfield (Charlotte, N.C., class of '76), two-sport star Liz Rogers Biggerstaff (Raleigh, N.C., class of '02, class of '06), football defensive end John Bowman (Rockingham, N.C., class of '05), basketball point guard Lorinza "Junior" Harrington (Wagram, N.C., class of '02) and baseball infielder David Yount (Forest City, N.C., class of '04).
 
The Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will begin on Friday evening, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the LaVerne Banquet Hall. Tickets for the induction ceremonies banquet are $20 per person and $12 for children 12 and under. For more information about the Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame, contact committee chairman Bill Nash at 704-233-8121 or via E-mail at bilnash@wingate.edu.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,100 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, master's degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 15 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 nine years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 77 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 77 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 86 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.