Hartsville, S.C.----The fifth-seeded Newberry College Wolves scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning Thursday afternoon, rallying for a 6-4 victory over fourth seeded Wingate University on day one of the 2015 South Atlantic Conference softball tournament. Newberry improves to 30-20, advancing to take on Carson-Newman Friday at 12:30 p.m. Wingate falls to 26-19 overall. The Bulldogs will face Coker Friday at 12:30 p.m. in an elimination game.
Maude McCourry and
Cassie Harrell each drove in a pair of runs to lead the Newberry attack.
Allison Van Atta added an RBI and a run scored, while
Ann Dee Priest also drove in a run for the Wolves.
All-conference infielder
Emily Usiak (Matthews, N.C.) went two-for-three with three RBI to lead the Wingate attack. SAC Player of the Year
Alexis Burrell (Chesapeake, Va.) was two-for-three with a triple, RBI and run scored, while first team All-SAC infielder
Mellena Helms (Concord, N.C.) had three hits and a run scored.
Wingate jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Helms started things with a double to center, then moved to third on a
Taylor Laskey (Cherryville, N.C.) single. An infield single from Burrell loaded the bases for Usiak. The junior delivered a two-run single to make it 2-0.
Three straight singles loaded the bases for the Bulldogs in the second. Burrell was hit by a pitch to push the lead to three.
Newberry got on the board in the fifth when Harrell connected on a solo homer to cut the lead to two.
The Wolves scored five times in the sixth to take the lead. Priest's RBI single made it a one-run game, while a hit batsman tied it. McCourry followed with a two-run single, while Harrell's RBI single made it 6-3.
Burrell led off the seventh with a triple to deep right center. Usiak followed with an RBI single to make it a two-run game. Sophomore
Katie McLaurin (Laurinburg, N.C.) followed with a double in the right center field gap, putting runners on second and third with no outs. The next three Wingate hitters all flew out to left field as the Wolves held on for a two-run win.
Brittany Middleton got the win, moving to 7-8. She allowed a run on seven hits in five innings. Senior right-hander
Miranda Paul (Virginia Beach, Va.) took the loss, falling to 5-4. She allowed four runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings, striking out three and walking one. Wingate stranded 11 base runners on the night, leaving the bases loaded in the second and fourth innings while leaving runners on second and third in the first and seventh innings. The Bulldogs out-hit the Wolves 14-7.