SALISBURY, N.C. - Newberry College junior shortstop Courtney Lindler (Irmo, S.C.) drove in the winning run with two outs in the top of the fifth to help the sixth seed Lady Indians to a 1-0 victory over eighth seed Tusculum College in an elimination game on the final day of the 2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament Sunday morning at Catawba College. The Lady Indians' tournament run came to an end one game shy of the championship round as they fell to second seed and eventual tournament champ Wingate University, 5-3.

Newberry ends the season with a 22-34-1 overall record, while Tusculum drops to 18-32-2. NFCA Division II No. 25 Wingate moves on to the NCAA tournament with a 45-9 record.

Newberry 1, Tusculum 0

The teams battled through four scoreless innings before sixth-seeded Newberry got the only run of the game. Ashley Marine (Peachtree City, Ga.) singled with one out and Ashleigh Anderson (Barnwell, S.C.) was hit by a pitch. A grounder by Jessica Jackson (Batesburg, S.C.) forced Marine at third for the second out. Lindler stepped to the plate and jacked what seemed to be a three-run homer over the left field fence, but the umpires called Jackson out for missing third base, giving Lindler credit for just a double and one RBI.

Christina Kirby (Delmar, Del.) made the single run hold up as she held the Pioneers to just three hits in improving to 13-15 on the season with the shutout. On the game, she walked three and fanned seven. Tusculum had loaded the bases on a hit and two walks in the first inning, but Kirby got out the jam with a strikeout and a fly out.

Tusculum also had a runner at second in the third, but a looping liner to shallow left field was turned into a double play by Lindler at short. Tusculum managed just a two-out single in the fourth and a leadoff walk in the fifth the rest of the way. Lindler had two of the four Lady Indian hits, while Nicole Ringwall (Rose Hill, Kan.) had two hits for Tusculum. Megan Dubois (Chino, Calif.) (8-7) took the loss despite allowing just a run on four hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.

Newberry 3, Wingate 5

Newberry scored three times in the first inning without a hit as Wingate starter Lauren Powell (Midlothian, Va.) issued four walks before being lifted with one out in the opening frame. Jackson and Anderson walked to open the game and after a sacrifice, Kirby reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases. Kat Hammond (Irmo, S.C.) and Betsy Shealy (Leesville, S.C.) then drew walks to force home a pair of runs.

Ashley Green (Charleston, S.C.) relieved Powell and Newberry got a final run on a groundout by Amy Jarrell (Dover, Del.). Wingate got a run back in the second on an RBI double by Joy Henry (Virginia Beach, Va.) and tied the score on a two-run home run by Grace Cunningham (Camden, S.C.) in the third.

The Lady Indians were unable to rattle Green like they did Powell, as Newberry recorded just one hit for the remainder of the game. The only blemish in a perfect six and two-thirds innings of work for Green was a one-out single by Kirby in the sixth. Green (23-6) finished the one-hit performance with no walks and a pair of strikeouts, while McKenzie Phillips (Wallace, N.C.) (7-13) was charged with the loss. Kirby came on in the fourth to pitch two plus innings of relief for Newberry.

The Bulldogs took the lead in the fourth as Henry doubled to lead off the inning and later scored on a single by Heather Winchester (Waxhaw, N.C.). The final run came in the fifth when Courtney Wagner (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) was hit by a pitch with the bases full.

Newberry's third place finish marks their highest SAC Tournament finish in school history.