Catawba & Wingate Earn NCAA Baseball Championship Bids
Catawba Tabbed to Host Southeast Region Tournament
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Catawba College has been selected as the host for the 2015 NCAA II Southeast Region Baseball Tournament. The tournament will be held at Finch Field in Thomasville, N.C. More information on the tournament, which will begin on Thursday, will be announced on Monday.
The Catawba Indians finished as the top team in the region with a 40-13 record and are one of six teams that will comprise the double elimination tournament. The winner of the regional will advance to the NCAA II Championships in Cary, N.C.
Three of the teams joining Catawba in the tournament garnered automatic berths by being tournament champions of the three conferences that comprise the Southeast Region. North Greenville was the winner of Conference Carolinas, Wingate claimed the South Atlantic Conference tournament, while Georgia College was the winner in the Peach Belt. Additional at-large selections went to Mount Olive and North Georgia.
Thursday's first round match-ups will pit top-seed Catawba against sixth-seeded North Greenville (27-23), second-seeded Mount Olive (37-14) versus fifth-seeded Wingate (32-24) and third-seeded North Georgia (35-15) against fourth-seeded Georgia College (33-17). Game times will be set on Monday.
Wingate Earns Five Seed in NCAA Tournament; 'Dogs face Mount Olive in Opener
Indianapolis, Ind.----The South Atlantic Conference tournament champion Wingate University Bulldogs have earned a number five seed in the NCAA Southeast Regional Baseball Tournament. The 48-team field was announced Sunday night. The Bulldogs will face second-seeded Mount Olive in the opening round game on Thursday in Thomasville, N.C.
Catawba is the number one seed in this week's double-elimination tournament. The Indians will serve as the host school, with the tournament taking place at Finch Field in Thomasville, N.C. Mount Olive is the two seed, with North Georgia earning the three seed. Peach Belt Tournament champion Georgia College is the four seed, followed by Wingate and Conference Carolinas tournament champion North Greenville.
Wingate is 32-24 overall. The 'Dogs earned the automatic bid by going on an incredible run to win the 2015 SAC Tournament title. This is the first NCAA Tournament for the Bulldogs since 2011. Wingate's opening-round opponent that season was also Mount Olive. Before 2011, the last NCAA Tournament appearance for the Bulldogs came in 2001.
Wingate won six elimination games in the SAC Tournament, starting with a 17-9 win over Carson-Newman on Thursday. Wingate dropped Friday's contest to Newberry, meaning the Bulldogs had to win five games in three days for the title. The 'Dogs beat Anderson 17-3 on Saturday, then picked up a 5-3 win over Newberry Sunday. Wingate was back on the field Sunday night, defeating Tusculum 12-8. The Bulldogs knocked off top-seeded Catawba 8-2 on Monday, setting up a title game with the Indians. Wingate erased a 4-0 deficit, scoring 11 of the game's last 12 runs, capturing the title with an 11-5 victory.
Wingate's prolific offense leads the nation with 86 homers, ranking second in hits and runs, sixth in doubles and 18th in slugging percentage. Senior Thomas Spitz (West Chester, Pa.) leads the nation in runs, ranking third in RBI, eighth in hits and 12th in homers. Sophomore Shane Billings (Kernersville, N.C.) is the nation's leader with 100 hits, ranking second in runs and 15th in stolen bases. SAC Freshman of the Year Bradley Brown (Rockingham, N.C.) ranks eighth nationally in doubles and 11th in RBI.
The double-elimination tournament will take place Thursday through Sunday at Finch Field. The winner of the regional advances to the Division II championships in Cary, N.C. which will take place May 23-30.
NCAA Southeast Regional Tournament
Opening Round (Thursday, May 14, 2015)
#1 Catawba vs. #6 North Greenville
#2 Mount Olive vs. #5 Wingate
#3 North Georgia vs. #4 Georgia College