Lenoir-Rhyne, Carson-Newman, Mars Hill, Tusculum, Wingate Advance in 2007 Food Lion SAC Softball Tournament

CLINTON, S.C. - Top seed Lenoir-Rhyne and second-seed Carson-Newman remained unbeaten in the 2007 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Tournament, while third seed Wingate and seventh-seed Mars Hill College stayed alive.

The tournament will continue with three games on Saturday. The tournament championship game is Sunday.

Updated printable bracket here

Wingate 6, Tusculum 1

CLINTON, S.C. - Third-seeded Wingate eliminated eighth-seeded Tusculum College from the 2007 South Atlantic Conference Softball Tournament with a 6-1 victory on Friday afternoon at the PC Softball Complex.

Tusculum's exit leaves four teams in the event with the top three advancing (No. 1 L-R, No. 2 C-N and No. 3 Wingate) to Saturday. Seventh-seeded Mars Hill is the lowest seed in the final four.

Wingate (35-19) will face off against Mars Hill in an elimination contest on Saturday in the first game of the day at 11:45 a.m.

Wingate was led in the victory over TC by Courtney Wagner (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), who finished the game a perfect 3-for-3. Wagner secured two RBIs, scored a run and picked up two of her three hits on doubles.

The junior was one of four Wingate players to finish with multi-hit contests. Celina Rocha (Baytown, Texas) had three RBIs on two hits, second team All-SAC selection Joy Henry (Virginia Beach, Va.) pounded out two hits and scored a run and LaRonda McClain (Kings Mountain, N.C.) finished with a run scored and an RBI.

Anna Johnson (Jonesborough, Tenn.) led the Pioneers in the contest, hitting a home run in the first inning to give TC an early 1-0 advantage.

Ashley Green (27-14) picked up the win in the circle for the Bulldogs, striking out six Pioneers.

Mars Hill 7, Presbyterian 5 (9 innings)

CLINTON, S.C. - Seventh-seeded Mars Hill College eliminated fourth-seeded and host institution Presbyterian College from the 2007 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Tournament with a 7-5 nine-inning victory on Friday afternoon at the PC Softball Complex.

Mars Hill will now play the winner of a loser's bracket elimination game between third-seeded Wingate and eighth-seeded Tusculum at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, April 21.

The Lions scored the game-winning run when Katie Bryden (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) scored on a passed ball to give MHC a 6-5 lead. Bryden had kicked off things in the second extra stanza for Mars Hill by singling through the left side.

Ashley Angell (Winston-Salem, N.C.) netted the Lions' final run of the game when she singled to score Anna James (Bellvue, Wash.) and eventually set the final tally in the contest at 7-5.

Presbyterian did seriously threaten in the bottom half of the ninth, loading the bases with two outs, but MHC relief pitcher Paige Brantley (Raleigh, N.C.) forced PC leadoff hitter Kellyn Henderson (Simpsonville, S.C.) into a groundout to the pitcher to end the game.

The Lady Blue Hose started the game off by garnering a 3-0 advantage going into the top of the fifth inning, but the Lions outscored PC 7-2 over the final four innings to earn the win.

Laura Tate (Spartanburg, S.C.) led the Lady Blue Hose with two hits and two runs scored, while Henderson finished with two hits and a run scored.

Erin Stewart (Marion, S.C.) ended the game with two hits for PC.

Jenna Pender (Hanahan, S.C.) led the Lions in the victory, ending the contest 3-for-4 from the dish with two runs scored.

Overall, the two teams left the box score full with both teams leaving 14 on base and combining for 12 errors. Mars Hill accounted for eight of the errors.

Lenoir-Rhyne 2, Presbyterian 1 (8 innings)

CLINTON, S.C. - Top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne stayed in the winner's bracket of the 2007 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Tournament with a 2-1 eight-inning victory over fourth-seeded Presbyterian on Friday afternoon.

An All-SAC first team selection, Leah Krohn (Taylorsville, N.C.) acquired the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the extra frame when she doubled in Taylor Queen (Conover, N.C.) from second base.

Appalachian State transfer and first team All-SAC pitcher Meredith O'Connor (Charlotte, N.C.) held the Blue Hose to just two hits in the contest. O'Connor fanned 10 PC batters in the game.

PC's only run of game came in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Kellyn Henderson (Simpsonville, S.C.) began the game by hitting an infield single and then promptly stole second base.

Two batters later after being sacrificed over to third on a bunt, PC's Laura Tate (Spartanburg, S.C.) flied out to center field, allowing Henderson to cross the dish and garner Presbyterian a 1-0 advantage.

The lead would not last long as SAC Player of the Year Karie Pushard (Harrisburg, N.C.) singled in Queen to tie the game at 1-1.

Mary Gordon (Vernon, Conn.) suffered the loss for PC to fall to 14-7 on the season.

Lenoir-Rhyne will next face second-seeded Carson-Newman at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 21 in the semifinals of the tournament with the winner advancing to the championship round.

Carson-Newman 2, Wingate 1

CLINTON, S.C. - Second-seeded Carson-Newman remained unbeaten in the 2007 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Tournament with a 2-1 victory over third seed Wingate on Friday morning at the PC Softball Complex.

The win acquired almost a day of rest for the Lady Eagles as they will not play again until 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 21 when they will square off against top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne who stayed unbeaten as well with a 2-1 eight-inning victory over fourth-seeded Presbyterian on Friday afternoon.

Carson-Newman scored its first run of the game in the bottom of the second inning when Amber Palmer (Kennesaw, Ga.) belted a home run to left field to give the Lady Eagles a 1-0 advantage.

The Lady Eagles would tack on another two innings later when All-SAC first team member Jessie Howard (Knoxville, Tenn.) brought home Whitney Durham (Rossville, Ga.) for the game-winning run.

Wingate threatened to tie or take the lead in the top of the seventh, using a Kimee Lewis (Farmington, Utah) single up the middle to score its first run of the game and make the score 2-1 with runners at second and third for the Bulldogs.

Carson-Newman starting pitcher and second team All-SAC choice Stephanie Templeton (Ringgold, Ga.) forced the next two batters out to obtain her second win in the tournament. Templeton is now 20-3 on the season.

Ashley Green (Charleston, S.C.) took the loss for Wingate from the circle, striking out five C-N batters.

Carson-Newman's Sarah Little (Calhoun, Ga.) led all batters in the game with two hits.

Tusculum 10, Catawba 3

CLINTON, S.C. - Eighth-seeded Tusculum College eliminated fifth-seeded Catawba from the 2007 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Tournament with a 10-3 win on Friday afternoon at the PC Softball Complex.

Tusculum (29-24) will next face third-seeded Wingate at 4 p.m. on Friday. Wingate fell into the loser's bracket with a 2-1 loss to second-seeded Carson-Newman on Friday morning.

The Pioneers had five different players with two hits in the victory with Brie Griffin (Glendale, Ariz.) leading the way. Griffin ended the Catawba win with two hits, two runs scored, a home run and three RBIs.

TC's Anna Johnson (Jonesborough, Tenn.) was 2-for-3 in the tilt with two runs scored and two RBIs. Ashley Basilicato (East Patchogue, N.Y.) ended the game with two hits, a run scored and an RBI, while Jenica Fernandez (Phoenix, Ariz.) had the exact same output in the victory.

Mackenzie Loy (Knoxville, Tenn.) was 2-for-4 from the dish for Tusculum, collecting an RBI and a run scored.

Catawba was led in the loss by SAC Freshman of the Year Allie Marshall (Pleasant Garden, N.C.), who hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning to secure all the Indians' runs in the game.

Megan Dubois (Chino, Calif.) fanned six in the victory from the pitcher's circle for the Pioneers. Linsday Ettinger (Pasadena, Md.) took the loss for Catawba to drop to 22-10 in 2007.

Mars Hill 5, Newberry 4

CLINTON, S.C. - Seventh-seeded Mars Hill stayed alive in the 2007 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Tournament with a 5-4 victory over sixth-seeded Newberry on Friday afternoon at the PC Softball Complex. The loss eliminates Newberry (34-25-1) from the competition, ending the Lady Indians' 2007 season.

Mars Hill advances in the loser's bracket and will next face off against fourth-seeded Presbyterian at 2 p.m. on Friday. The Lady Blue Hose fell 2-1 to top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne in eight innings to fall into the loser's bracket.

Mars Hill (33-21) only had five hits in the game, but capitalized on four Newberry errors in the game, including three in the first inning, to claim the victory.

The Lions scored the eventual game-winning run in the third inning when Katie Bryden (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) tripled in Ashley Harber (Goose Creek, S.C.) who had reached base on a walk.

Bryden was the only Mars Hill player to conclude their efforts in the contest with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

All-SAC second team selection Courtney Lindler (Irmo, S.C.) led the Lady Indians with two hits, an RBI and two runs scored. Teammate Kat Hammond (Irmo, S.C.) had two hits and an RBI.

Paige Brantley (Raleigh, N.C.) tallied the win in the circle for the Lions, pitching six strong innings for MHC and striking out two. Katie Blankenship (Candler, N.C.) acquired the save by pitching a scoreless seventh inning.

Stephanie Monette (Conway, S.C.) ends her season in the circle for the Lady Indians with a record of 16-12 with the loss to Mars Hill.