NEWBERRY, S.C. - The Newberry College softball team split their South Atlantic Conference doubleheader with Wingate University by scores of 0-5 and 2-1. Both teams came into the twinbill ranked in the Southeast Region as Wingate as No. 5 and Newberry as No. 7.

Picking up the victory for Newberry was Amanda Huckestein (Port Charlotte, Fla.), who pitched all seven innings in game two, while striking out ten batters and allowing four hits. Wingate's Brittany Blankenship (Midlothian, Va.) garnered a win in the first game and a loss in game two.

With the victory, Huckestein moved into a second-place tie for most wins in a season with 16. She also overtook second place for most strikeouts in a season with 152 strikeouts.

The doubleheader also served as Newberry's senior day celebration as two seniors were honored prior to the game: Amy Jarrell (Dover, Del.) and Kat Hammond (Irmo, S.C.). The duo have been apart of over 100 victories during their time at NC as both have started over 150 games in their career.

Game One: Wingate 5, Newberry 0 - Box Score
The Bulldogs scored four runs early in the game to jump ahead of the scarlet and gray as they pulled out a victory in game one at the Newberry College softball field.

Wingate first got on the scoreboard in the second inning as Leyila Myers (Marietta, Ga.) led off with a double down the leftfield line. Myers was driven in by Jamie Miller (Monroe, N.C.) as Miller knocked a homerun to right-field giving WU a 2-0 lead.

After Blankenship retired the side in the second, Wingate added two more runs to take a 4-0 lead on NC. Hallie Pettigrew (Uniontown, Ohio) started the inning with a bunt single and advanced to second after a wild pitch.

After Debra Grijalva (San Jose, Calif.) walked, the duo advanced to second and third from a sacrifice bunt. Pettigrew scored on another sacrifice bunt to increase Wingate's lead to 3-0, while Grijalva scored one batter later when a failed pickoff attempt went into leftfield and allowed her to score.

WU added another run in the fifth inning off a Grijalva sacrifice fly to leftfield.

Newberry's best chance to score came in the final inning as NC had runners on first and second with one out. However a groundout double play ended the game and gave the Bulldogs the 5-0 victory.

Blankenship and relief pitcher Allison Smith (Daleville, Va.) held Newberry to two hits, while striking out a combined five batters.

Game Two: Newberry 2, Wingate 1 - Box Score
Game two featured a pitching duel between Huckstein and Blankenship as the duo combined for seven hits, fourteen strikeouts and one earned run. Fortunately for Newberry, Huckestein came away with the victory to move to 7-5 in the SAC.

The Bulldogs took an early lead as Pettigrew reached on a throwing error by Sara Powell (Ocean View, Del.) and advanced to third base on the play. Pettigrew then scored on a passed ball to give WU a 1-0 lead.

After the first-inning run, Huckestein struck out eight batters in following six innings, which includes fanning all three batters in the second inning.

NC scored its first run of the doubleheader in the fourth inning as Huckestein reached on a walk with one out. Christine Stokes (Charleston, S.C.) advanced Huckestein to third base on a single to center field.

With Richelle Mirabal (Tampa, Fla.) at the plate, Huckestein tied the game as Blankenship threw a wild-pitch allowing Huckstein to come home.

The game remained tied at 1-1 until the sixth inning, when Newberry added one run to the scoreboard to give them the 2-1 lead.

Powell led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hammond. Powell then showcased her speed by stealing third base and a subsequent throwing error on a pickoff attempt by WU's catcher allowed Powell to sprint home for the 2-1 lead.

In the seventh inning, Huckestein slammed the door shut on Wingate as she retired the side with a groundout and two consecutive strikeouts.

The doubleheader split moved Newberry to 26-13 on the year and 7-5 in the SAC. The Bulldogs are now 26-11-1 on the year and 11-3 in conference play.

Newberry's final home series comes this Friday as the scarlet and gray takes on Lincoln Memorial at 2 p.m. The following day, Newberry will travel to Tusculum College for the series finale at 2 p.m.