Wingate, N.C.----The 10th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs clinched the outright regular season South Atlantic Conference softball championship Saturday afternoon by picking up a pair of victories over Lincoln Memorial University in SAC softball action. Wingate won the opener 2-1, while rolling to an 11-3 victory in game two to improve to 44-7 overall and 22-2 in league play. The Railsplitters fall to 24-24 overall and 11-13 in the SAC. It is the second straight regular season SAC title and fifth in program history. Prior to 2023, the most recent regular season championship came in 2009. The 'Dogs closed out the regular season by winning 24 of their last 25 games.

GAME ONE | #10 WINGATE 2 LINCOLN MEMORIAL 1

KEY STATS

- Wingate out-hit LMU 7-5
- The Bulldogs had all three extra-base hits
- The 'Dogs had the lone stolen base
- Wingate committed both errors
- The Railsplitters left nine on base; the Bulldogs stranded seven
- WU pitching struck out five and walked three; LMU had two strikeouts and one walk

KEY BULLDOGS

- Hali Scott and Raelynn Kramer each had a double and drove in a run
- Kaylee Hobgood was three-for-three with a double and a stolen base
- Ragan Liles added a pair of hits
- Raechel Cutcher allowed just one run in 6 1/3 innings, striking out four
- Hali Scott got the final two outs to notch the save, striking out the final batter of the game

FOURTH INNING

- A pair of walks put two on for LMU in the fourth
- An RBI single from Nicole Couvertiere gave the Railsplitters a 1-0 lead

SIXTH INNING

- Laney McLaurin drew a leadoff walk
- Scott lined an RBI double to right center, with pinch-runner Alyssa Hall scoring from first to tie it
- Kramer followed with an RBI double to left center, plating pinch-runner Raleigh Dudley to give WU a 2-1 lead

SEVENTH INNING

- Two WU errors and an infield singles loaded the bases for LMU with one out
- Scott came in, and induced a fielder's choice, with the 'Dogs throwing out the potential tying run at home
- Scott struck out the final batter of the game to leave the bases loaded

WRAPUP

- Cutcher got the win, moving to 17-1 on the year
- She allowed a run on five hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking three
- Scott notched her third save of the year, retiring both batters she faced
- Margot van Eijl took the loss, allowing two runs on seven hits in six innings, striking out two

GAME TWO | #10 WINGATE 11 LINCOLN MEMORIAL 3 (6 Innings)

KEY STATS

- Wingate out-hit LMU 13-8
- The 'Dogs had six of the eight extra-base hit; each team homered
- The Railsplitters left eight on base; the Bulldogs stranded three
- Wingate had both stolen bases
- Each team committed an error
- WU pitching struck out eight and walked three; LMU had three strikeouts and two walks

KEY BULLDOGS

- Savanna Brooks was three-for-four with two doubles, a homer, three RBI and two runs scored
- Sydney Kale went three-for-four with two doubles, three RBI and two runs scored
- Liles added a hit and a pair of RBI
- Hobgood went two-for-two with an RBI, stolen base and two runs scored
- Hall collected a double, RBI and run scored
- Laney McLaurin went one-for-two with an RBI and run scored
- Heaven Maness added a hit, stolen base and run scored
- Kramer also registered a hit and scored a run

FIRST INNING

- A walk and Kale single started the bottom of the first
- Liles ripped an RBI single to left, plating Kale to put the 'Dogs on top 1-0

SECOND INNING

- Katy Pozzuto led off the second with a solo shot, tying it at one
- Wingate answered with five runs in the bottom of the frame
- Singles from Kramer and McLaurin put two on with one out
- Hobgood's RBI single gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead
- Kale lined a two-run double to right center to push the lead to three
- Brooks followed with her 18th homer of the year, a two-run shot to left center
- The junior has 18 homers this year, three more than her previous single-season WU record of 15 last year

THIRD INNING

- Maness led off the frame with a bunt single, then stole second
- She scored on Hall's RBI double to left center, making it 7-1
- McLaurin's sacrifice fly plated Hall to push the lead to seven

FOURTH INNING

- Brooks led off the inning with a double down the left field line
- She scored on a Liles sacrifice fly to put the 'Dogs on top 9-1

SIXTH INNING

- LMU cut the lead to six with a pair of runs in the fifth
- The Bulldogs scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to end it
- Hobgood drew a leadoff walk, then scored on Kale's RBI double
- Brooks ripped an RBI double to left center, plating pinch-runner Riley Davis to make it 11-3

WRAPUP

- Scott got the win, moving to 14-4 on the year
- She allowed a run on four hits in four innings of work, striking out seven
- Lily Huneycutt added a scoreless inning in relief with a strikeout
- Victoria Conley took the loss, allowing six runs on seven hits in 1 1/3 innings

UP NEXT

- Wingate will be the number one seed in next week's SAC Tournament
- The Bulldogs will host games this weekend, with the four, five and eight seed coming to town
- The full bracket and schedule will be announced Sunday evening