WINGATE, N.C. - The Newberry College softball team was eliminated from the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament on Friday evening after suffering a 2-1 loss to the home-standing Wingate Bulldogs. Wingate scored twice in the bottom of the first inning and held Newberry off long enough to advance in the tournament.

Newberry, the third seed in the tournament, ends its season with a 31-13 overall record. Fifth-seeded Wingate improved to 35-14 and will see the top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne Bears on Saturday, April 24, at 11 a.m.

SAC Pitcher of the Year Amanda Huckestein (Port Charlotte, Fla.) was handed the loss despite surrendering just one earned run and three hits in six innings pitched. Huckestein finishes the year with a 19-8 record and 217 strikeouts, the most ever in Newberry College history. Brittany Blankenship (Midlothian, Va.) pitched a complete game for Wingate and held Newberry to one run on three hits.

Newberry threatened in the top of the first after Aissa Gatewood (North Charleston, S.C.) drew a leadoff walk and Jessica Reid (Walhalla, S.C.) reached on a bunt single. Newberry advanced the runners to second and third with one out but a double play bailed the Bulldogs out of the inning.

Wingate also put runners on second and third base in the bottom half of the inning, but the Bulldogs capitalized on Debra Grijalva's (San Jose, Calif.) two-RBI single up the middle to take the early 2-0 lead.

Newberry found its way on to the scoreboard in the top of the third with Tiffany Pigage (Lexington, S.C.) starting the rally by way of a leadoff walk. Pigage advanced to third after a sacrifice bunt and groundball to the right side and Jessica Reid managed the timely hit to score the run.

Newberry looked to tie the game in the fifth inning with runners on first and second and one out, but an unfortunate line out led to another inning-ending double play and the score remained 2-1.

Newberry managed just one base runner over the sixth and seventh innings until the 2-1 Wingate lead ultimately became final.

Newberry, the No. 9 team in the Southeast Region, will now have to wait for the national tournament selection in hopes of furthering its season. The Southeast Region sends eight teams to the national tournament but regionally-unranked Queens University solidified one of the bids by virtue of winning the Conference Carolinas Tournament. Undefeated North Georgia, the No. 1 team in the region, won the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and received that conference's automatic bid.