A six-run fifth inning in the opener and a three-run rally in extra innings in game two helped Wingate University sweep a South Atlantic Conference softball doubleheader from Tusculum College on Saturday afternoon, by scores of 9-1 in five innings and 7-6 in eight innings.

The Pioneers (14-16, 0-2 SAC) will be back on the road Tuesday afternoon at Lincoln Memorial for a SAC twinbill starting at 2 p.m.

Game 1: Wingate 9, Tusculum 1 (5 innings)
(Box Score)

The Bulldogs took advantage of a pair of Pioneer errors to score six unearned runs in the fifth inning to bring the game to an end via the eight-run rule. Wingate finished with 12 hits in the game, with the top four batters all finishing with two hits apiece.

Stacey Houser (10-4) allowed just one run on two hits and struck out three in five innings of work for the Bulldogs, while Kelly King (10-7) gave up all nine runs (three earned) on 12 hits while striking out three and walking a pair for the Pioneers.

Neither team had a baserunner until the bottom of the second, when Kayla Saliga doubled with one out and Katie McLaurin drew a walk. However, King got out of trouble with a popup and a groundout to keep the game scoreless.

The Bulldogs broke through with three runs in the third on RBI singles by Taylor Laskey and Alexis Burrell and a fielder's choice grounder by Saliga. Tusculum got its first baserunner in the top of the fourth on a single by Carolyn Williamson and had runners at the corners with one out, but Houser escaped with a strikeout and a popup.

In the fifth, the Pioneers cut the deficit to 3-1 as Brooke Rhodes and Paige Sneed drew back-to-back walks with one out. After a foul popup, Williamson came through with a double that knocked in Rhodes with the Pioneers' first run.

However, the game would come to a sudden end as the Bulldogs exploded for six runs on six hits in the fifth. Burrell had an RBI single to extend the Wingate lead to 4-1, and Jordan Wilson came through with a two-run double for a 6-1 lead. Shannen Adams followed with a two-run single to lift the Bulldogs to an 8-1 advantage, and Olivia Smith came through with the winning run on an RBI single.

Williamson had both hits for the Pioneers, finishing the game 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Laskey and Burrell each went 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Mellena Helms and Smith were 2-for-4 apiece. Eight of the nine starters in the Wingate lineup had at least one hit, and eight of nine scored at least one run.

Game 2: Wingate 7, Tusculum 6 (8 innings)
(Box Score)

Down to their final out in the seventh inning, the Pioneers tied the game on an RBI double by Kaytlin Stroinski, then took a 6-4 lead in the top of the eighth on a wild pitch and an RBI double by Rhodes. However, the Bulldogs (18-10, 2-0 SAC) tied the game on a two-run homer by Amy Wingfield in the bottom of the eighth and won it on a two-out solo homer by Helms later in the inning, her second of the game.

Helms went 3-for-5 with two solo homers for the Bulldogs, while Smith was 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Wingate had 13 hits in game two, including six extra-base hits, and received two hits each from Laskey and Wingfield in the victory.

The Pioneers had 10 hits of their own in the nightcap, with Williamson going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Rhodes adding two doubles and two RBIs. Nicole Ball also went 2-for-4 with a triple and a run scored for the Pioneers in the game.

Helms led off the bottom of the first with a home run off Pioneer starter Eliza Davis, and the Bulldogs would go on to load the bases in the inning before Davis was able to retire Wingfield on a fly ball to left to keep the Wingate lead at 1-0.

The Pioneers came back in the second to take the lead as Courtney Hutcherson led off the inning with a home run off Wingate starter Taylor Bates to tie the game at 1-1. Sneed was hit by a pitch with one out, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Rhodes that gave the Pioneers their first lead of the day at 2-1.

Wingate responded with two runs of its own in the bottom of the second on RBI doubles by Smith and Laskey to go back in front 3-2, but the Pioneers came back in the third to tie the game again as Williamson reached on an infield single and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Stroinski.

The Bulldogs regained the lead again at 4-3 in the last half of the third on an RBI double by Wingfield, and the game stayed that way until the seventh when Williamson singled with one out and scored on a double to left by Stroinski that evened the contest at 4-4.

In extra innings, the Pioneers struck first as Hutcherson was placed on second via the international tiebreak, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a two-out wild pitch. Ball then tripled and scored on another double by Rhodes to give the Pioneers insurance at 6-4.

The Bulldogs responded immediately in the bottom of the eighth as Wingfield led off with a two-run home run on the first pitch to tie the game at 6-6. After a pair of fly outs, Helms slugged her second homer of the game with two outs to give Wingate the win.

Davis (2-5) went the distance for the Pioneers, giving up seven runs (six earned) on 13 hits with one walk and one strikeout. Bates (7-6) also went all the way for the Bulldogs, surrendering six runs (four earned) on 10 hits with four strikeouts and no walks in 141 pitches.