Anderson, Wingate Advance to SAC Softball Championship Final

No. 3 Wingate 4, No. 7 Carson-Newman 1

HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Sophomore right-hander Stacey Houser chucked a three-hitter for three-seeded Wingate, while a pair of mental miscues by seventh-seeded Carson Newman proved costly as the Bulldogs captured a 4-1 victory over the Eagles on day three of the 2014 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Championship at Dorothy Neely Field in Harrogate, Tennessee.

Wingate (34-17) advances to take on the loser of the winner's bracket contest featuring No.2 Anderson and No.8 Catawba at 5 p.m. on Saturday evening, while Carson-Newman (34-18) is eliminated from championship contention.

All-SAC First Team selection Houser silenced a potent Carson-Newman offensive attack that entered Saturday's contest batting a tournament-high .417 as a team. Houser picked up her third victory of the SAC Championship, allowing only three hits, striking out four and walking four, which nearly proved detrimental.

Houser allowed only one Eagle base runner to move into scoring position through the first three frames, but she stumbled briefly in the bottom of the fourth by walking Sarah Kelley and Caitlyn Lance around a Hefner single to load the bases. Jessica Morgan drew another walk to force in a run, but Houser snubbed out the only real threat she faced by inducing a fly out from Hayley Burnette.

In four starts in the SAC Championship, Houser has accumulated a stingy 1.88 earned run average in 26 innings pitched.

The Bulldogs produced more than enough offense, with a little help from the Carson-Newman defense, to back Houser's outing. Right-fielder Olivia Smith put Wingate in business in the top of the fourth with a leadoff single, while a Taylor Laskey sacrifice bunt moved her into scoring position. In the next at-bat, shortstop Alexis Burrell drove a routine fly ball into right field, but Elayna Siebert lost sight of the ball in the sun, putting runners on second and third with one out. A passed ball, the Eagles' second miscue of the inning, allowed Smith to score from third, while Kayla Saliga plated Burrell with a single back into center field.

Wingate added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh as Amy Wingfield drove home Shannen Adams, who led off with a double, on a rare 9-3 putout. Pinch hitter Hayley Whitley plated Mellena Helms with a sacrifice fly to right field.

Cassie Lyons was on the hook for the hard-luck loss for Carson-Newman as she allowed nine hits and three earned runs with two strikeouts in seven innings pitched.

Mellena Helms, Alexis Burrell and Shannen Adams each contributed two hits apiece for the Bulldogs.

No. 2 Anderson 3, No. 8 Catawba 2

HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Anderson senior shortstop Abby Child belted a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh to lift the second-seeded Trojans to a 3-2 win over the eighth-seeded Catawba Indians on the third day of the 2014 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Championship at Dorothy Neely Field in Harrogate, Tennessee.

The Trojans (41-10) advance to Sunday's championship bout, while Catawba (26-20) will try to bounce back and remain alive in the SAC Championship with a 5 p.m. test against third-seeded Wingate on Saturday evening. Anderson clashes with the winner of that contest in the championship game needing only one win while the contender must knock off the Trojans twice.

The Indians and Trojans traded runs in the first frame as Catawba's Carley Tysinger walked, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, advanced to third on Gina Gerone's single and scored on a 4-6 fielder's choice. Anderson answered in the bottom half of the first as Jessica Neidigh was hit by a pitch and stole second before scoring on Molly Child's double over the right-fielder's head.

Catawba starting pitcher Tysinger flirted with more trouble in the first frame as she walked Abby Child and plunked Danielle Swygert to load the bases after the initial run scored, but she fanned Rebecca Martin and Laura Janksy to retain the tie.

After a chaotic first frame, the two teams traded zeroes until Holli Chandler broke the silence for Catawba with a leadoff, solo home run in the top of the fifth that clanked off the scoreboard in right field.

Catawba's 2-1 advantage held up until the bottom of the seventh as the Child sister's combined to revive the Trojans' hopes. Following a groundout, Molly Child singled into left field to put the tying run on first before Abby Child lined a 2-2 pitch to straightaway center field, whizzing over the top of the fence and propelling Anderson to a walk-off victory.

With her tournament-leading third home run of the SAC Championship and 14th of the season, Abby Child matched the South Atlantic Conference career record for homers with her 46th bomb, tying Lenoir-Rhyne's Sarah Atkins.

Augie Pena picked up the win for the Trojans after allowing only two hits and no runs with three strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings in relief of Katelyn Howser, who was popped for five hits and two runs in 4 1/3 innings. Molly Child went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Abby Child was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI and a run. Bri Cason was the only player not named Child to record a hit for the Trojans as she went 1-for-2 with a walk.

Carley Tysinger wore the loss with six hits and three runs allowed with seven strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. Katherine Shumaker led the Indian offensive unit with two hits, an RBI and a run.

No. 3 Wingate 8, No. 8 Catawba 0

HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The three-seeded Wingate Bulldogs outhit eight-seeded Catawba, 11-2, on the third day of the 2014 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Championship, ending the Indians' run in the tournament with a decisive 8-0 victory in five innings at Dorothy Neely Field in Harrogate, Tennessee. With the quick win, the Bulldogs (36-17) advance to Sunday's title bout to square off against the Anderson Trojans, while Catawba's (26-12) season comes to a halt. The Bulldogs head into Sunday needing two wins over the Trojans to claim the SAC Championship title.

The Bulldogs batted around in the top of the second to bulge out to a commanding 6-0 advantage as the first five Wingate hitters reached safely. Kayla Saliga singled up the middle to lead off the flourish and Jordan Wilson doubled in front of Shannen Adams, who plated the first run with a base knock. A wild pitch allowed Wilson to score, while a fielder's choice at third base pushed Adams across. Alexis Burrell capped the outburst with a two-run single that skipped into center field.

Wingate poured it on with a two-out rally in the top of the fourth. Taylor Laskey walked and Burrell singled to put a pair of runners on for Saliga, who ripped a double off the bottom of the fence in left-center to score both Laskey and Burrell.

Wingate hurler Taylor Bates allowed only one base runner, a first-inning single by Gina Gerone, through three innings before the Indians finally broke through for a scoring opportunity in the fourth. Katherine Shumaker drew a two-out walk, while Sydney Hyder poked a single into right field. With runners then on first and third, Bates induced a 6-4 putout to end the threat and keep the shutout intact.

Bates closed the door in the fifth, striking out Morgan Brann and Kristen Stinnard in back-to-back to polish off her complete game. Bates improves to 10-9 following her two-hitters. She struck out three and walked one.

Gina Gerone and Sydney Hyder recorded the only two hits of the contest for Catawba, while four different Bulldogs tallied multiple hits. Both Alexis Burrell and Kayla Saliga went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored, while Olivia Smith and Katie McLaurin added two hits apiece.

Caroline Turner took the loss for the Indians after surrendering four hits and three runs in one inning of work. Carley Tysinger provided Catawba with 3 2/3 innings of relief and she allowed two runs with three strikeouts.