Hartsville, S.C.----The third-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs avoided elimination for the second time Saturday evening, cruising to a 15-3 victory over Carson-Newman University on day two of the 2024 South Atlantic Conference baseball tournament. The Bulldogs won their first elimination game 5-4 against Coker earlier afternoon to setup their second elimination game of the day against the Eagles. The 'Dogs will now face Newberry Sunday at noon in Hartsville. If Wingate wins that contest, the teams will meet one more time Sunday, with the winner advancing to the championship series.

KEY STATS

- Wingate out-hit Carson-Newman 19-7
- The 'Dogs had seven of the eight extra-base hits including the lone homer
- The Eagles left eight on base; the Bulldogs stranded five
- Carson-Newman had both stolen bases
- Wingate committed two of the three errors
- WU pitching struck out 10 and walked two; C-N had three strikeouts and two walks

KEY BULLDOGS

- Lane Rhodes was three-for-three with a triple, four RBI and two runs scored
- Ricky Clark went three-for-four with a double, three RBI and three runs scored
- Sean Barnett was three-for-five with a double, homer, two RBI and three runs scored
- Isaiah Williams-Rhem added a pair of hits and two RBI
- Breon Ishmael went three-for-five with a double, RBI and three runs scored
- Michael Dansky also registered three hits, driving in a run and scoring once
- Cam Harris and Brett Adams each added a hit and a run scored
- Dylan Story struck out seven in five innings of work, allowing just one run to earn the win
- Jordan Howard added a scoreless inning of relief
- Josh Dotson allowed one earned run in two innings of work, striking out three

SECOND INNING

- Adams led off the inning with a double, then scored on Clark's RBI double
- Rhodes followed with an RBI single to put the 'Dogs on top 2-0

THIRD INNING

- Barnett crushed a solo shot to left center to push the lead to three

FIFTH INNING

- Rhodes drew a leadoff walk, then moved to second on a Jake Courville sacrifice
- An RBI single from Williams-Rhem made it 4-0
- A sacrifice fly from James Denten in the bottom of the frame got the Eagles on the board

SIXTH INNING

- The 'Dogs scored four runs in the sixth to take a seven-run lead
- Ishmael started the rally with a one-out single, then scored on a Clark RBI single
- Clark scored on a passed ball to make it 6-1
- Williams-Rhem followed with a two-run single to extend the lead to seven
- A two-run single from Spencer Bright in the bottom of the frame made it 8-3

SEVENTH INNING

- Wingate answered with another four-run inning to take a nine-run lead
- A Barnett single and Ishmael double put two on with two outs
- Dansky's RBI single plated Barnett to make it 9-3
- Clark followed with an RBI single to put the 'Dogs in double figures
- A two-run triple from Rhodes put the Bulldogs on top 12-3

EIGHTH INNING

- Harris ripped a one-out double to center, then scored on Barnett's RBI double to push the lead to 10
- Ishmael added an RBI single to plate Barnett
- Rhodes capped the scoring with an RBI single to make it 15-3

WRAPUP

- Story got the win, allowing a run on five hits in five innings of work, striking out seven
- Andrew Bench took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings of work

UP NEXT

- Wingate and Newberry meet Sunday at noon in Hartsville
- The Bulldogs will need two wins over the Wolves on Sunday to advance to the championship series