Baseball | 4/26/2017 1:24:00 PM

Championship Central | Watch Thursday's Game | Live Stats

Kodak, Tenn.----The Wingate University Bulldogs are the number eight seed in this week's South Atlantic Conference baseball tournament, which will be held at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tenn. Wingate will face fifth-seeded Tusculum College in Thursday's single-elimination contest at 4 p.m. The Bulldogs enter postseason play at 19-29 overall after posting a 10-14 mark in league play.

The Bulldogs have six SAC Tournament titles all-time. Wingate won in 1994, 1995 and 1996, adding titles in 1998, 2011 and 2015. The Bulldogs won the 2015 championship as the number six seed, having to win the single-elimination contest to advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament. Wingate also advanced out of the single-elimination portion last season, picking up a pair of victories in the 2016 tournament.

Wingate and Tusculum met last weekend in the final series of the regular season, with the Bulldogs sweeping Saturday's doubleheader to take the series. Tusculum won 8-1 Friday night, but the 'Dogs prevailed 11-7 in game one Saturday and 7-6 in the finale to secure a spot in this week's tournament. Freshman Joseph Mason (Morehead City, N.C.) had four hits including a homer to lead the game one attack, driving in three runs while sophomore Austin Turgeon (Athens, Ga.) also drove in three runs. Senior Colby Barnette (Monroe, N.C.) added three hits including a homer, while junior Bradley Brown (Rockingham, N.C.) and sophomore Zach Little (Troutman, N.C.) drove in two runs each. Barnette had three more hits including a homer in game two, while junior Ty Andrus (Winston-Salem, N.C.) collected two hits and three RBI for the Bulldogs.

This marks the fourth consecutive year Wingate and Tusculum have met in the SAC Tournament. The two teams met twice in the 2014 tournament, with the 'Dogs winning both contests to advance to championship Sunday. Wingate's 12-8 victory in 2015 led the Bulldogs to a championship Monday, where the Bulldogs downed Catawba twice en route to the title. Tusculum ended Wingate' season in 2016, winning 9-6 in 11 innings.

Andrus leads the Bulldogs with a .369 average, 12 doubles and 37 runs scored, stealing 18 bases in 23 attempts while adding a homer and 21 RBI. Sophomore Andrew Llewellyn (Moseley, Va.) is hitting .323 with six doubles, six homers and 26 RBI, while Mason is hitting .316 with 11 doubles, eight homers, two triples, 29 RBI and 32 runs scored. Barnette hits .306 with six homers, eight doubles and 31 RBI, while Little hits .301 with seven doubles and 15 RBI. Brown leads the team with 11 homers and 41 RBI, while sophomore Micah Goodwin (Rougemont, N.C.) has five homers, eight doubles and 22 RBI.

Senior right-hander Brandon Donahue (Charlotte, N.C.) has been the Friday night starter all season, going 6-7 with 67 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings. He has a pair of nine-inning complete games on the year. Junior right-hander Hunter Morgan (Summerfield, N.C.) is 6-4 with a team-best 77 1/3 innings, striking out 58 while junior right-hander Hunter Hamilton (Troy, N.C.) has a 4.92 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings.

Senior right-hander Cameron Price (Indian Trail, N.C.) leads the staff with 15 appearances out of the bullpen, going 2-2 with a 3.34 ERA and three saves, striking out 34 in 29 2/3 innings. Freshman right-hander Josh Karklin (Waxhaw, N.C.) has a 2.84 ERA in 12 2/3 innings. Junior left-hander Kory Behenna (Bahama, N.C.) has a team-best four saves in 13 appearances, piling up 30 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings.

If Wingate wins Thursday's game, the Bulldogs will face Catawba Friday at 12 p.m. If Tusculum wins, the Pioneers will take on Lincoln Memorial at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. The five-day tournament runs through Monday, May 1. Every game will be held at Smokies Stadium.  

WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,200 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 35 minors, 12 career concentrations, nine pre-professional programs, master's degrees in accounting, business, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in education, pharmacy and physical therapy.
 
With a 14 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 10 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 88 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate is number one in this millennium with 88 Academic All-America® honorees. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 97 lifetime Academic All-America® picks. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.