Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Championship: Wingate, Carson-Newman, Newberry, Catawba Advance on Day One
April 21, 2005

SAC Sports Information Directors contributed to these releases

Wingate 5, Mars Hill 3

Carson-Newman 9, Lenoir-Rhyne 5

Newberry 10, Tusculum 4

Catawba 11, Presbyterian College 2

Wingate 5, Mars Hill 3 Box Score

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Wingate University starter Eric Brown (Hamlet, N.C.) pitched eight solid innings and a sacrifice fly by Josh Benton (Gold Hill, N.C.) in the eighth inning broke a 3-3 tie as the fifth-seeded Bulldogs advanced in the championship bracket of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament over No. 4 seed Mars Hill College, 5-3, Thursday morning at Pioneer Park.

The teams traded the lead several times with Wingate tying the contest at 3-3 in the top of the sixth on a RBI double by Benton. In the eighth, Keith Benton (Wingate, N.C.) reached on a bunt single and advanced to third on a single to left field by Jay Barnes (Strasburg, Va.). Josh Benton followed with a sac fly as Wingate regained the lead.

The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the ninth on doubles by Ian Martin (Hickory, N.C.) and Tim Cottrell (Oxford, N.C.).

Brown went eight innings and allowed six hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts to improve to 4-4. Matt Trent (Roanoke, Va.) struck out the side in the ninth for his seventh save.

Mars Hill's Gary Lee (Chesapeake, Va.) went the distance, giving up 11 hits and five runs. He falls to 7-4.

Joe Castagner (Bushnell, Fla.) and Chris Argano (Marietta, Ga.) each had two hits for the Lions.

Wingate (21-30) plays next on Friday afternoon at 12:45 p.m. and will await the winner of the Catawba College-Presbyterian College match-up to be played later tonight. The Lions (26- 28) play the loser of the Catawba-Presbyterian game tomorrow afternoon at 12:45 p.m. in Jefferson City, Tenn.

Carson-Newman 9, Lenoir-Rhyne 5 Box Score

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Carson-Newman Eagles used a five-run seventh inning rally for a 9-5 win over the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne in the first round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Baseball Tournament Thursday afternoon.

With the win, the third-seeded Eagles advance to face the winner of the Tusculum-Newberry game at 9 a.m. Friday morning. The Bears, the number six seed in the tournament will face either Tusculum or Newberry in the losers bracket Friday morning at Carson-Newman.

The Bears jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first four innings. The Bears' big inning came in the third when they scored two runs. Matt Keever (Hickory, N.C.) doubled to center field to bring Derek Pugh (Asheboro, N.C) home. Keever would come home on a single to left field by Matt Wiley (Charlotte, N.C.). The Bears would add two more runs in the fourth when John Pugh (Asheboro, N.C.) smacked a two-run single to left field.

The Eagles finally got on the board in the fourth when Brian Chapman (Tazewell, Tenn.) sent a towering homerun to left field to lead off the inning. The Eagles cut the lead to 5-4 at the end of the sixth inning. Kyle Beall (Baton Rouge, La.) started the seventh-inning rally with a two-run single to center field. Nathan Gravley (Cartersville, Ga.) hit an infield single to score Langdon Potts (Dandridge, Tenn.) and T.J. Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) plated two more runs with a single to right field to give the Eagles a 9-5 lead, a lead they would not lose.

Chris Gillies (Wyoming, Mich.) picked up the win in relief as he scattered seven hits in four innings with a walk and strikeout. Steve Cishek (East Falmouth, Mass.) notched his fourth save of the season as he pitched the final one and two-third inning.

The Eagles improve to 30-22. The Bears fall to 27-22.

Newberry 10, Tusculum 4 Box Score

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Newberry College's Dean Walker made the most of his return home as the Greeneville native went 3-for-4 to lead the seventh-seeded Indians to a 10-4 win over No. 2 seed and host Tusculum College Thursday in the first round of the 2005 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

The Indians (19-33) pounded out 13 hits and took advantage of five TC errors to advance to Friday's winner's bracket semifinal against No. 3 Carson-Newman College at 9 a.m. The Pioneers, ranked No. 24 in NCAA Division II, will face No. 6 seed Lenoir-Rhyne College in an elimination game played at Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn.

Newberry starter Russell Haltiwanger (4-2) tossed a gem as he pitched eight innings, allowed six hits, four runs, walked three and struck out four. SAC Pitcher of the Year Brent Gabel (9-1) suffered his first loss of the season as he went 5.1 innings and allowed four runs. Of the 10 runs scored by the Indians, six were unearned.

Walker, T.J. McCord and Ryan Easterby each finished with three hits for the Tribe, while Jamall Kinard and Matt Webb accounted for a pair of hits.

Tusculum was held to seven hits in the contest, including Kenny Reed's 2-for-4 effort and Skip Talarek's seventh inning single which extended his hitting streak to 17 games.

Catawba 11, Presbyterian College 2 Box Score

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Top-seed Catawba College pounded out 14 hits as the Indians defeated No. 8 seed Presbyterian College 11-2 Thursday night in the first round of the 2005 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament held at Pioneer Park.

The No. 15 Indians (34-17) advance to Friday's winner's bracket semifinal against fifth- seed Wingate University beginning at 12:45 p.m. The Blue Hose (15-34) will face No. 4 Mars Hill College in Friday's 12:45 p.m. elimination game to be played at the Silver Diamond Complex in Jefferson City, Tenn.

Thursday's game was delayed 1:10 due to a line of thunderstorms that moved through the East Tennessee area.

Presbyterian jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning, but the Indians scored 11 unanswered runs. Catawba starter Matt Fairweather (8-2) recorded his eighth win as he went seven innings, scattered seven hits, walked three and struck out nine. Fairweather tied a school record with his 30th career victory. After surrendering two runs in the opening frame, Fairweather held PC at bay retiring 11 straight batters at one point

Nick Lefko led the offensive attack going 4-for-5 with a RBI and a triple. Aaron Rimer and Chad Baker also tallied multi-hit performances, while Thomas Giles posted three RBI.

Presbyterian was led by Nick Hoffner's 3-for-5 effort, while Russell Robinson posted two hits in the losing effort.