Top-Seeded Tusculum Heads SAC Baseball Championship Field

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Third-ranked Tusculum, which clinched the regular-season conference title with a pair of victories over Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday, will be the top seed at the 2012 Food Lion SAC Baseball Championship, which gets underway on Thursday in Forest City, N.C.

The Pioneers finished 24-3 in SAC play this season, one game better than the Championship's No. 2 seed and 24th-ranked Catawba, which went 23-4 in the league.

Tusculum's SAC title is the program's fifth all-time, and its 24 regular-season league wins set a conference record.

Catawba, meanwhile, finished with 23 SAC wins for the second season in a row, marking the most league victories over a two-year span in conference history.

Tusculum enters the Championship at 39-7 overall, while Catawba is 36-10.

Seeded third in the SAC Championship will be Brevard, which finished the regular season with a 26-20 overall record a 16-11 mark in conference play.

The Tornados' third-place finish in the SAC standings is the program's best since joining the conference.

After finishing 14-13 in the SAC and 28-21 overall, Wingate has earned the Championship's No. 4 seed. The Bulldogs are followed by No. 5 seed Carson-Newman, which went 24-23 overall and 13-14 in league play.

Newberry secured the SAC Championship's sixth and final berth by winning three of its final five conference games to finish 12-15.

The SAC Baseball Championship will begin on Thursday at noon with Tusculum taking on Newberry, followed by Catawba vs. Carson-Newman at approximately 3:45 and Brevard vs. Wingate at approximately 7:30.

All games of the double-elimination tournament will be played at McNair field in Forest City, N.C. Complete information on the event - including a full bracket -- can be found at SAC Championship Central.

2012 Food Lion SAC Baseball Championship - Opening Round Schedule
Thurs., April 19 | McNair Field | Forest City, N.C.

No. 1 Tusculum vs. No. 6 Newberry, noon
No. 2 Catawba vs. No. 5 Carson-Newman, 3:45 p.m.
No. 3 Brevard vs. No. 4 Wingate, 7:30 p.m.