Softball | 4/26/2017 12:28:00 PM

Championship Central | Watch Thursday's Game | Live Stats

Hartsville, S.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs are the number six seed in this week's South Atlantic Conference softball tournament, which begins Thursday at Byerly Park in Hartsville. The Bulldogs will face number three seed Newberry in the tournament opener Thursday at 10 a.m. Wingate enters postseason play at 25-23 overall after going 10-10 in the SAC.

The Bulldogs have won three SAC Tournament titles in program history, picking up championships in 1999, 2003 and 2006. Wingate won two games in last year's tournament, while picking up four victories in the 2014 tournament, advancing to the final day of the championship.

Wingate and Newberry met earlier this month in Newberry, with the Wolves sweeping the doubleheader. The Bulldogs had a 5-2 lead in the fifth inning of game one, but Newberry scored eight runs in the final two innings to prevail 10-5. All-SAC sophomore Taylor Wells (Chesterfield, Va.) drove in three runs, while All-SAC sophomore Naomi Sapp (Guyton, Ga.) added two hits and two runs scored. Newberry won game two 4-2, despite a three-for-three game from Sapp. The Bulldogs and Wolves met in last year's SAC Tournament, with Wingate winning 7-0 to eliminate Newberry.

Sapp leads the Bulldogs with a .417 batting average, adding 11 doubles, three triples and two homers, driving in 17 runs while scoring 37 times. She ranks third in the league in hits, fifth in average, sixth in triples and seventh in on-base percentage. Wells is hitting .375 with three homers and 24 RBI in 32 games, compiling a .451 on-base percentage. Freshman Mary Claire Coyne (Knoxville, Tenn.) is hitting .352 with five homers, nine doubles and 22 RBI.

The Bulldogs have three players tied for the team lead with six homers on the year. Senior Katie McLaurin (Laurinburg, N.C.) hits .280 with five doubles, six homers and 27 RBI, while freshman Jordan Floyd (Wilmington, N.C.) hits .259 with six homers, nine doubles and a team-best 28 RBI. Senior Misty Doran (Century, Fla.) has five doubles, six homers and 15 RBI for the Bulldogs, who have nine players with between 14 and 28 RBI this year.

Sophomore right-hander Rachel Weidner (Greenville, N.C.) leads the pitching staff, posting a 13-12 record with a 2.43 ERA and three saves. She has 20 complete games and eight shutouts on the season, leading the SAC in innings pitched while ranking third in the league in shutouts, complete games and saves and fourth in strikeouts. Freshman right-hander Aubrey Reep (Eastover, N.C.) is 12-11 with a 3.42 ERA, notching 16 complete games and a shutout. She has 98 strikeouts in 139 1/3 innings of work this season.

The winner of the Wingate-Newberry game will return to action Friday at 10 a.m., facing the winner of the Lenoir-Rhyne vs. Tusculum contest. The loser of the Wingate-Newberry game faces the loser of the Lenoir-Rhyne vs. Tusculum game. The four-day tournament ends Sunday, April 30. Every game will be played at Byerly Park in Hartsville.

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.