Tigerville, S.C.----Playing for the first time in over a month, the 16th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs picked up an impressive 6-4 victory at #19 North Greenville University on the opening day of the 2021 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional baseball tournament Thursday afternoon. Wingate has now won eight of its last nine, moving to 31-12 overall, while the Crusaders fall to 33-12 on the season.

KEY STATS

- Wingate out-hit North Greenville 12-5
- Each team had three extra-base hits; NGU had three of the four homers
- The Bulldogs left eight on base; the Crusaders stranded six
- North Greenville committed the lone error of the day
- Wingate had all four stolen bases in the contest
- WU pitching struck out seven and walked four; NGU had nine strikeouts and two walks

KEY BULLDOGS

- McCann Mellett was two-for-three with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored
- Carson Simpson added a hit, two RBI and a run scored
- Gehrig Christopher went three-for-four with a double and an RBI
- Justin Guy added an RBI for the Bulldogs
- Andrew McKay was three-for-four with two stolen bases and two runs scored
- Hunter Dula went five innings to earn the win, allowing three runs
- Mac Callari tossed the final four innings, allowing just one run to earn the save

NOTES

- Wingate is making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance
- Fourth appearance since 2011
- First time the 'Dogs have won the opening NCAA Tourney game since 1995
- First NCAA Tournament win since 2015, a 2-0 victory over North Greenville on day two
- Wingate moves to 4-4 all-time against the Crusaders; 1-1 at North Greenville
- First game for the 'Dogs since they won twice on April 26 to claim the SAC Tourney title
- The Bulldogs have won eight of their last nine including a 5-1 record in postseason play
- Only the eighth time in 44 games NGU has scored four or fewer runs this year
- The Crusaders scored 131 runs over their last 10 games (13.1 runs per game)
- Mellett is seven-for-10 with three homers and eight RBI his last three games
- Simpson has driven in six runs his last two games
- Dula has now won each of his last seven starts
- Callari has allowed just two runs over his last 9 2/3 innings, striking out eight

FIRST INNING

- Mellett led off the bottom of the first with a towering solo shot to right center, his 10th of the year to put WU on top

SECOND INNING

- Josh Senter's two-run homer put the Crusaders on top 2-1
- Wingate answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame
- Christopher singled to start the frame; McKay added a one-out double down the left field line
- Simpson's two-run single up the middle put Wingate back on top 3-2
- Simpson then stole second and scored on a Mellett RBI single to give WU a two-run lead

THIRD INNING

- A solo homer from John Michael Faile pulled North Greenville within a run in the top of the third

SEVENTH INNING

- Mellett drew a leadoff walk, then moved to second on a Bryant single
- Christopher's two-out RBI single plated Mellett to make it 5-3

EIGHTH INNING

- McKay led off the eighth with a single, then stole second
- He moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Simpson
- Guy's sacrifice fly to deep left plated McKay to make it 6-3

NINTH INNING

- A solo shot from Pat Monteith started the inning
- Callari responded by retiring the next three hitters to end the game

WRAPUP

- Dula got the win, moving to 7-1 on the year
- He allowed three runs on three hits in five innings, striking out two and walking four
- Callari allowed a run on two hits in four innings, striking out five without a walk to earn the save
- He entered the game in the sixth with two on and no outs
- Callari struck out the first two, then induced a groundout to end the threat
- He allowed just one single in the seventh, then retired the side in order in the eighth with two strikeouts
- Logan Chapman took the loss, allowing five runs on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven

 UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Friday, taking on Mount Olive at 7 p.m.
- The Bulldogs and Trojans both picked up wins in their NCAA Tourney openers Thursday
- Wingate and UMO met earlier this season, with the 'Dogs prevailing 8-2
- The double-elimination regional runs through Sunday in Tigerville, S.C.