Wingate, N.C.----The fourth-seeded and 23rd-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears won a pair of thrilling contests Sunday afternoon on day three of the South Atlantic Conference softball tournament, punching their ticket to the championship series. The Bears won the opener 5-4 in 11 innings, while using a five-run seventh inning in game two to rally for a 9-8 victory, improving to 43-14 on the season. The Bulldogs fall to 46-9 overall.

GAME ONE | #23 LENOIR-RHYNE 5, #7 WINGATE 4 (11 Innings)

KEY STATS

- LR out-hit Wingate 11-9
- The Bears had all three extra-base hits with both homers
- The Bulldogs left nine on base; Lenoir-Rhyne stranded seven
- LR had the lone stolen base in the contest
- Lenoir-Rhyne committed the only error
- LR pitching struck out 10 and walked four; WU pitching struck out five and walked one

KEY BULLDOGS

- Sydney Kale was three-for-five with an RBI to lead the offense
- Savannah Lampley went two-for-four with an RBI and a run scored
- Savanna Brooks and Kaylee Hobgood each added an RBI
- Raelynn Kramer added a hit and scored a run
- Kale allowed two run in five innings of work, striking out four
- Raechel Cutcher allowed one run in four innings of work, striking out one

THIRD INNING

- Singles from Kramer, Lampley and Kale loaded the bases for the 'Dogs
- Brooks drew a bases-loaded walk to give Wingate a 1-0 lead

FOURTH INNING

- Katelyn Rackard led off the inning with a solo homer, tying it at one

SIXTH INNING

- An RBI single from Madison Primm gave the Bears a two-run lead

SEVENTH INNING

- Rackard's two-run shot gave LR a 4-1 advantage
- A walk and single put two on with one out for Wingate in the bottom of the frame
- Lampley's RBI single cut the lead to two
- Hobgood's RBI groundout made it a one-run game
- Kale tied it at four with a two-out, RBI single to left, sending it to extras

ELEVENTH INNING

- The Bears regained the lead with a two-out RBI single from Lauren Rakes, making it 5-4
- A Heaven Maness single started the bottom of the inning, but she was erased by a double play
- A walk and hit batter put a pair on, but a groundout ended the threat

WRAPUP

- Rakes got the win, tossing 4 2/3 shutout frames with five strikeouts, allowing three hits
- Cutcher took the loss, allowing a run on three hits in four innings of work

GAME TWO | #23 LENOIR-RHYNE 9, #7 WINGATE 8

KEY STATS

- Wingate out-hit Lenoir-Rhyne 12-11
- Each team had five extra-base hits; the Bears had three of the five homers
- The Bulldogs left six on base; LR stranded five
- Wingate had the only stolen base of the contest
- LR pitching struck out seven and walked two; WU pitching had four strikeouts and three walks

KEY BULLDOGS

- Kale was two-for-four with a homer and three RBI
- Ragan Liles went two-for-four with a homer
- Hannah Stevens added a double and a pair of RBI
- Hobgood collected a hit, RBI and run scored
- Brooks also drove in a run
- Kramer was two-for-foru with a double and a run scored
- Maness added a double and scored a run
- Lampley also had a hit and a run scored

FIRST INNING

- A two-run homer from Kale give Wingate an early 2-0 lead

SECOND INNING

- Solo homers from Primm and Cassidy Wall tied it at two in the top of the second
- Singles from Lampley and Kramer, along with a Maness double loaded the bases for Wingate
- Hobgood drew a bases-loaded walk to put the 'Dogs back on top
- Kale's RBI single made it 4-2
- Brooks added a sacrifice fly to push the lead to three

THIRD INNING

- A two-run homer from Julia Mardigian pulled Lenoir-Rhyne back within one
- Liles led off the bottom of the frame with a solo shot, giving WU a 6-4 lead

SEVENTH INNING

- Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for LR with one out
- Primm's two-run single tied it at six
- Wall connected on a two-out, three-run homer to give the Bears a 9-6 lead
- Two singles and a strikeout on a third-strike passed ball loaded the bases for WU in the bottom of the inning
- Stevens came through with a pinch-hit two-run double off the wall in right, just missing a walk-off grand slam, cutting the lead to one
- An out on the base paths was the second out of the inning; a flyout ended the game, leaving the tying run on second base

WRAPUP

- Faith Carrigan got the win, allowing three runs on six hits in five innings, striking out five
- Kale took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits in three innings, striking out three

UP NEXT

- Wingate will wait to learn its postseason fate on May 6, when the NCAA field is announced
- The Bulldogs were the top-ranked team in this week's first official NCAA Southeast Region poll
- The top two teams in the region earn hosting duties
- Wingate hosted regionals for the first time in program history last year
- The field will be announced May 6 live on NCAA.com