Softball | 4/21/2015 1:51:00 PM

Championship Central

Hartsville, S.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs will be the number four seed in this weeks' South Atlantic Conference softball tournament, which begins Thursday morning. Wingate will take on fifth-seeded Newberry Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The eight-team, double-elimination tournament will take place Thursday through Sunday at Byerly Park in Hartsville, S.C. Wingate enters the postseason at 26-18 overall, going 13-9 in the conference.

Wingate has made deep runs in each of the last two SAC Tournaments. The Bulldogs played five games in the 2013 tournament, shutting out Anderson in the opener while losing to Lenoir-Rhyne in game two. Wingate responded with wins over LMU and Mars Hill before being eliminated with a 2-0 loss to Lenoir-Rhyne. The 'Dogs played six games in last year's tournament. Wingate shutout Brevard in the opener before losing 7-3 to Anderson in game two. The Bulldogs followed with a 1-0 win against Lenoir-Rhyne, 4-1 win against Carson-Newman and 8-0 victory against Catawba to advance to championship Sunday. Wingate fell to Anderson 5-0 on championship Sunday.

The Bulldogs and Wolves met for a doubleheader at the end of March in Newberry. Wingate won the first game 2-0, while Newberry took the second game 8-2. Junior right-hander Stacey Houser (Mooresville, N.C.) tossed a four-hit shutout in game one junior catcher Taylor Laskey (Cherryville, N.C.) drove home both runs. Freshman Morgan Hendrix (Mocksville, N.C.) had two hits, a stolen base and two runs scored. Senior shortstop Alexis Burrell (Chesapeake, Va.) homered in game two, while Laskey added another RBI.

Houser has already made 10 starts in the SAC Tournament during her career, piling up 70 2/3 innings. She tossed every inning in Wingate's five games during her freshman season, while notching three complete games last year. She has a 1.78 ERA in her SAC Tournament career, posting six victories including three shutouts. Houser has allowed zero or one earned run in six of her 10 SAC Tournament starts.

Burrell has led the Wingate offense all season. The preseason All-SAC shortstop is hitting .383 with 15 homers and 51 RBI, adding six doubles, two triples and 35 runs scored. She has a .773 slugging percentage and .436 on-base percentage. Burrell is second in the SAC in homers and RBI, ranking third in slugging percentage and eighth in batting average. She has a league-best nine homers, 24 RBI and .928 slugging percentage against SAC opponents, ranking third with a .435 batting average and .506 on-base percentage. Burrell earned All-SAC Tournament honors last year, going nine-for-19 to post a .473 batting average.

Laskey is second on the team with a .359 batting average and 39 RBI, collecting six homers and seven doubles while leading the team with 31 walks and a .479 on-base percentage. She is fifth in the conference in on-base percentage. Junior infielder Mellena Helms (Concord, N.C.) is hitting .353 with seven homers, eight doubles, 26 RBI and 37 runs scored, ranking sixth in the SAC in runs.

Hendrix is hitting .351 in her first collegiate season, scoring 32 times while stealing 20 bases in 21 attempts. The freshman leads the SAC in stolen bases. Junior Emily Usiak (Matthews, N.C.) has posted career highs in every category this season, hitting .312 with seven homers and a team-best 10 doubles, driving in 24 while scoring 21 runs.

Houser is 18-13 with a 2.16 ERA this year. The two-time All-SAC selection has 68 wins in her career, one shy of tying the school's all-time record. The junior ranks second in the SAC in saves, third in innings pitched, wins, complete games and seventh in ERA and strikeouts.

The winner of the Wingate vs. Newberry game will face the Carson-Newman vs. Coker winner Friday at 12:30 p.m. The loser of the Wingate-Newberry contest takes on the loser of the Carson-Newman vs. Coker contest Friday at 12:30 p.m.


 

Game	Date	Matchup	Location	Time
1	April 23	#3 Catawba vs. #6 Lenoir-Rhyne	Hartsville, S.C.	10 a.m.
2	April 23	#2 Anderson vs. #7 Lincoln Memorial	Hartsville, S.C.	12:30 p.m.
3	April 23	#1 Carson-Newman vs. #8 Coker	Hartsville, S.C.	3 p.m.
4	April 23	#4 Wingate vs. #5 Newberry	Hartsville, S.C.	5:30 p.m.
5	April 24	Loser GM 1 vs. Loser GM 2 (alt. site)	Hartsville, S.C.	10 a.m.
6	April 24	Loser GM 3 vs. Loser GM 4 (alt. site)	Hartsville, S.C.	12:30 p.m.
7	April 24	Winner GM 1 vs Winner GM 2	Hartsville, S.C.	10 a.m.
8	April 24	Winner GM 3 vs. Winner GM 4	Hartsville, S.C.	12:30 p.m.
9	April 24	Loser GM 7 vs. Winner GM 6	Hartsville, S.C.	10 a.m.
10	April 24	GM 8 loser vs. GM 5 winner	Hartsville, S.C.	3 p.m.
11	April 25	GM 9 winner vs. GM 10 winner	Hartsville, S.C.	Noon
12	April 25	GM 7 winner vs. GM 8 winner	Hartsville, S.C.	2:30 p.m.
13	April 25	GM 11 winner vs. GM 12 loser	Hartsville, S.C.	5 p.m.
14	April 25	GM 12 winner vs. GM 13 winner	Hartsville, S.C.	1 p.m.
15	April 26	if necessary	Hartsville, S.C.	3:30 p.m.