Softball | 4/27/2016 1:37:00 PM

SAC Championship Central | Wingate vs. Queens Video | Wingate-Queens Live Stats

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs moved up three spots in this week's NCAA Southeast Region Poll. Wingate is ranked seventh in the final poll of the regular season, after checking in at 10th last week. The NCAA Southeast Region poll is used to determine the NCAA Tournament field. Wingate is 30-14 entering this week's South Atlantic Conference tournament, which will take place in Hartsville, S.C. The Bulldogs are the number three seed in the tournament after going 15-7 in conference play.

North Georgia is number one in the region after winning the PBC regular season and tournament titles. Armstrong State is number two, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne, Georgia College and USC Aiken. Catawba is sixth, with Wingate and Pfeiffer rounding out the top eight. Young Harris and Francis Marion round out the top 10. The Bulldogs have four victories over regionally-ranked teams.

The Bulldogs enter the SAC Tournament having won 13 of their last 15 conference games, including a five-game winning streak to cap the regular season. The run included a doubleheader sweep at Catawba, who entered the final week of the regular season in first place. Wingate won four games in the 2014 SAC Tournament to reach the final day, while picking up three victories in the 2013 tournament. The Bulldogs earned at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament in both 2013 and 2014.

Wingate will open the SAC Tournament at 10 a.m. on Thursday, facing sixth-seeded Queens. The Royals enter the tournament 22-25 overall, going 11-11 in conference play. The Bulldogs and Royals met for a doubleheader in Charlotte in late March, with each team winning once. Queens rallied for a 2-1 win in game one, scoring the winning run in the sixth. The Bulldogs rolled to an 11-1 five-inning game two win, getting a homer and five RBI from Misty Doran (Century, Fla.). Senior Mellena Helms (Concord, N.C.) and sophomore Morgan Hendrix (Mocksville, N.C.) added three hits each, driving in three runs while combining to score six times.

The Wingate offense ranks second in the conference with a .306 team batting average, connecting on 37 homers in 44 games. The Bulldogs are led by Helms, the 2016 SAC Player of the Year. A three-time all-conference selection, Helms is hitting .347 on the year with a conference-best seven triples. She is second in the league with 46 runs and 98 total bases, while also ranking second with a .681 slugging percentage. Helms is fifth in the SAC with nine homers and 10th with a .435 on-base percentage.

Senior catcher Taylor Laskey (Cherryville, N.C.) earned All-SAC honors for the third consecutive year. The first team all-conference catcher leads the Bulldogs with a .393 batting average, ranking fourth in the conference. Laskey is second in the league with a .489 on-base percentage, while ranking fourth with a .624 slugging percentage. She has collected six homers and nine doubles on the year, ranking second on the team with 30 RBI. Doran is also a first team All-SAC honoree. She is hitting .315 during her junior season with nine doubles, nine homers and a team-best 43 RBI. Doran ranks third in the league in RBI, fifth in homers, 10th in total bases and 13th in slugging percentage.

Freshman Naomi Sapp (Guyton, Ga.) is second on the Bulldogs with a .360 average, adding six doubles, four triples and a  homer, driving in 21 runs while scoring 24 times, earning honorable mention All-SAC accolades. After missing the first part of the season due to injury, junior Katie McLaurin (Laurinburg, N.C.) is hitting .346 with six homers, five doubles and 14 RBI. Senior Jordan Wilson (Gastonia, N.C.) is hitting .304 with seven doubles and 14 RBI, while classmate Emily Usiak (Matthews, N.C.) has a team-best 11 doubles, adding four homers and 26 RBI.

The pitching staff is once again anchored by four-time All-SAC selection Stacey Houser (Mooresville, N.C.). A first team all-conference honoree in 2016, Houser is Wingate's all-time leader in wins, innings pitched, complete games and shutouts. She is 19-11 with a 1.48 ERA this year. Houser ranks second in the SAC in wins, third in ERA, opponents' batting average and shutouts, fourth in complete games and innings pitched and sixth in strikeouts. Houser tossed a no-hitter against Tusculum while capping her season with two Senior Day shutouts against Anderson, tossing 13 shutout innings.

The winner of the Wingate-Queens game will face the winner of the Catawba vs. Newberry game Friday at 10 a.m. The loser will play the loser of the Catawba vs. Newberry contest Friday at 10 a.m. in an elimination game. Every game will take place at Byerley Park in Hartsville, S.C.