- The Tusculum College softball team took over sole possession of first place in the South Atlantic Conference with a 7-4 win over Wingate University in game two of their doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Red Edmonds Field. The Bulldogs won the opener 8-4 by scoring four runs in both the sixth and seventh innings.

The Pioneers (26-15, 10-4 SAC) are a half-game ahead of Anderson (9-4 SAC) with four regular-season conference games remaining. Tusculum plays at Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday at 3 p.m. in a SAC doubleheader while the Bulldogs (23-18-1, 5-9 SAC) host Catawba on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Game 1: Wingate 8, Tusculum 4
(Newspaper Box)

Wingate broke open a scoreless game with four runs in the sixth, then added four more in the seventh for insurance to capture the opener.

The Bulldogs finished with 16 hits in the game, including three apiece from Hayley Whitley and Kasey Pendley, while five other players had two hits apiece. Over the last two innings, Wingate plated eight runs on 11 hits after being held scoreless on five hits through five innings.

Tusculum received three hits from Miranda Beeler and Carolyn Williamson singled, walked and scored twice, but the Pioneers left the go-ahead run in scoring position in both the fifth and sixth innings against Bulldog starter Stacey Houser.

Wingate had the first good scoring opportunity in the second inning, putting runners at second and third with one out. However, Tusculum starter Elizabeth Johnson got out of trouble on a fielder's choice grounder to second and a liner to left that saw Williamson make a sliding catch.

The Bulldogs had runners at first and second with one out in the fourth and at third with one out in the fifth, but were turned away both times by Johnson. Tusculum had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the fifth as Lindsey Umberger led off with a triple to the center field fence, but Houser escaped trouble via a popup, comebacker and popup.

In the sixth, Wingate took a 1-0 lead as Taylor Laskey belted a one-out solo home run to deep left-center. The Bulldogs followed with four straight singles to take a 2-0 lead on an RBI hit by Kelsey Maffucci. With two outs, Brittany Loudermilt delivered a two-run single off Pioneer reliever Kelly King to double the Bulldogs' lead to 4-0.

Tusculum got right back in the game in the bottom of the sixth, as Williamson and Beeler reached on back-to-back bunt singles. Kaytlin Stroinski was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Katie Brennan, who was safe when the throw home on a grounder to third was dropped for an error. Williamson scored on the play to put the Pioneers on the board at 4-1.

After a popup and a strikeout, Nicole Ball came through with a two-run single into left field to bring home Beeler and Stroinski and cut the Wingate lead to 4-3. Houser was able to preserve the Bulldog lead as she got the final out of the inning on a popup to second.

Wingate tacked on four runs in the top of the seventh, including an RBI double by Kayla Saliga, an RBI single by Maffucci and a two-run single by Whitley. The Pioneers came back with a run in the bottom of the seventh as Williamson walked with one out, took second on an infield single by Beeler and scored on a two-out double by Brennan.

Houser (16-9) allowed one earned run and eight hits while striking out four and walking two in a complete-game performance for Wingate. Johnson (12-9) surrendered 11 hits and five runs in 6 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and one walk.

Game 2: Tusculum 7, Wingate 4
(Newspaper Box)

Brennan and Umberger hit home runs to stake the Pioneers to a 7-0 lead, which held despite a late rally from the Bulldogs that saw them score four runs in the sixth inning.

Brennan's home run in the second gave the Pioneers a 2-0 lead, and Umberger's three-run blast in the fifth chased Houser from the circle and extended the Tusculum advantage to 6-0. Umberger finished 3-for-3 with a double, home run and four runs batted in for the Pioneers in the win.

Tusculum enjoyed an 11-7 edge in hits in the game over Wingate, with eight of the nine starters recording at least one hit in the game. Ball went 2-for-3 with a run scored and Stroinski was 1-for-3 with two runs scored in the victory.

King (11-6) started and went the distance for the Pioneers, allowing four runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Houser (16-10) gave up seven hits and six runs in 4 2/3 innings to take the loss for the Bulldogs.

Tusculum took a 2-0 lead in the second as Umberger led off with a double to left and scored when Brennan hit a two-out home run over the fence in left-center for her fourth round-tripper of the year.

The Pioneers added a run in the fourth as Stroinski reached second on a double that fell in behind second base, then scored on a single by Umberger for a 3-0 Tusculum lead.

In the fifth, the Pioneers scored four runs after there were two outs and nobody on base. Williamson singled and Stroinski was hit by a pitch. Umberger then hit a 2-2 pitch over the fence in center field for her fourth homer of the year and a 6-0 Pioneer lead. Miranda Paul relieved Houser and gave up a single to Ball and a single to Paige Sneed, with Ball scoring when the ball was misplayed in the outfield for an error.

The Bulldogs fought back with four runs in the top of the sixth to pull within 7-4, scoring on a groundout, a two-run triple by Alexis Burrell and an RBI single by Laskey. Wingate threatened again in the seventh as Maffucci doubled with two outs, but King retired the side on a comebacker to close out the win.