Hickory, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs picked up a pair of impressive road wins Wednesday afternoon, sweeping a doubleheader at No. 15 Lenoir-Rhyne University in South Atlantic Conference softball action. Wingate won the opener 5-4 in eight innings, while prevailing 6-5 in game two to improve to 17-13 overall and 4-0 in the SAC. The Bears fall to 28-7 overall and 2-2 in league play.
Game One: Wingate 5, Lenoir-Rhyne 4 (8 innings)
The Bears used a four-run seventh inning to tie the game and send it to extras, but the Bulldogs responded with a run in the top of the eighth to win it.
Freshman infielder
Mary Claire Coyne (Knoxville, Tenn.) was three-for-four with three RBI to lead the Wingate attack. Senior infielder
Katie McLaurin (Laurinburg, N.C.) added a hit and two RBI, while sophomore outfielder
Naomi Sapp (Guyton, Ga.) went two-for-four with two runs scored. Freshman outfielder
Rebekah Woods (Sylvania, Ga.) also scored a pair of runs for the Bulldogs.
Wingate jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, getting RBI singles from Coyne and McLaurin.
The Bulldogs scored two more runs in the second to take a four-run advantage. Coyne's RBI single started the scoring, while McLaurin was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 4-0.
That was the score in the bottom of the seventh, but LR scored four times to tie it.
Mackensi Swain's two-run single plated the first two runs, while an RBI double from
Savannah Davis made it 4-3.
Erin Boone followed with the game-tying RBI single. Davis tried to score the winning run from second base, but was thrown out by Sapp in center field, helping Wingate send the game to extras.
The Bulldogs took a 5-4 lead in the top of the eighth when Coyne ripped an RBI single to left center. Wingate kept Lenoir-Rhyne off the board in the bottom of the frame, stranding the potential tying run at third base.
Freshman right-hander
Aubrey Reep (Eastover, N.C.) got the win, moving to 9-7. She tossed two shutout innings in relief, striking out one while allowing two hits.
Sydney Miller took the loss, falling to 4-4. She allowed a run on three hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out one and walking four. The Bulldogs left 13 runners on base in game one.
Game Two: Wingate 6, Lenoir-Rhyne 5
Woods went two-for-two with two RBI to lead the Wingate offense in game two. Freshman outfielder
Jessica VonCannon (Locust, N.C.) was two-for-three with an RBI and a run scored, while McLaurin added an RBI and a run scored for the Bulldogs. Freshman shortstop
Emma Swenson (Matthews, N.C.) contributed a hit and an RBI, while Sapp went three-for-five with a triple and a run scored.
Wingate jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first. Sapp ripped a lead-off triple to center on the first pitch of the game, then scored on VonCannon's RBI single. McLaurin and Swenson drew bases-loaded walks, while Woods was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 4-0.
Cates got Lenoir-Rhyne on the board in the second with an RBI double. The Bears would take their first lead of the day in the fifth when
Sarah Kenley connected on a grand slam, making it 5-4.
Wingate had the answer, scoring twice in the top of the seventh to regain the lead. Swenson started things with a one-out single, while
Taylor Wells (Chesterfield, Va.) followed with a single. Woods delivered the game-tying, two-out RBI single to make it 5-5. Sapp followed with a single, while an error on the play would allow pinch-runner
Meagan Martucci (Huntersville, N.C.) to score the go-ahead run.
Lenoir-Rhyne looked to tie the game in the seventh, getting a runner to third with two outs. Kenley ripped a line drive heading towards right field, but McLaurin made a leaping snag, securing the Wingate victory.
Sophomore right-hander
Rachel Weidner (Greenville, N.C.) got the win, moving to 8-6. She 1 2/3 shutout innings in relief without allowing a hit.
Brandi Parks took the loss, falling to 17-2. She allowed two runs on eight hits in seven innings, striking out three and walking four.
Wingate is back in action Saturday, hosting a doubleheader against Mars Hill at 1 p.m.
