NEWBERRY - The second seeded Newberry Wolves defeated the fifth seeded Wingate Bulldogs last night, 9-0, to advance to advance to the second round of the winner's bracket in the 2015 South Atlantic Conference baseball championship. The Wolves will face the third seeded Tusculum Pioneers at 9 p.m. on Saturday evening.
WHERE: Forest City, N.C. - McNair Field
WHEN: Saturday, April 25, at 9:00 p.m.
RECORDS: Newberry 34-16, 21-8 SAC and Tusculum 28-16, 18-11 SAC
LIVE AUDIO: AM 1240 WKDK in Newberry County
LIVE VIDEO: N/A
LIVE STATS: http://www.TheSAC.com
WEATHER: 63 degrees and clear at 9 p.m. with no chance of rain
Wesley Camp (Pelion, S.C.) was nothing short of sensational in the opening contest with the Bulldogs, notching the second complete-game shutout of his career. The senior southpaw scattered six hits and fanned six Bulldog batters in the victory, without giving up a free pass.
Jeff Sneed (Cumming, Ga.) led the Wolves' offense with a 2-for-3 effort. He scored three times and also roped a double with the bases loaded to tally three RBIs. JoJo Bradley (Spartanburg, S.C.) also added a pair of hits while driving in a run and crossing the plate once. D.J. Martinez (Montpelier, Va.) scored twice in the contest.
Newberry took two-of-three from the Pioneers in the regular season series. The Wolves won with scores of 9-6 and 5-3 while dropping the middle games to Tusculum 3-0.
Ethan Carpenter picked up the win in a complete game shutout of Newberry, logging all nine innings while scattering four hits and striking out as many. He did not allow a walk or hit a batter in the contest and needed only 99 pitches to get all 27 outs.
Cole Cromer (North Augusta, S.C.) went the distance in game three for the Wolves and secured the series victory. The senior gave up three runs on six hits and struck out two in seven innings of work.
The Pioneers have not been known for swinging the bat this season, as they are hitting .286 as a team with 15 home runs. However, their pitching staff has been carrying the load with a 4.09 ERA and 325 strikeouts in 367.2 innings pitched.
Chris Waylock is the leading hitter with a .365 average (54-for-148) while Jim Tolle has 28 RBIs and Jalen Shuffler has supplied the power with five home runs.
Devan Watts is the anchor of pitching staff with a 4-2 record and a 1.57 ERA in 46 innings pitched. He has eight saves and 58 strikeouts in 20 appearances this season.
Newberry has an 18-29 record in South Atlantic Conference tournament action and the Wolves are 2-5 all-time versus Tusculum in tournament play. Under head coach Russell Triplett Newberry has faced the Pioneers in each of his first four seasons. Tusculum has taken the past three meetings, including an 8-4 win to end the Wolves' season a year ago.
SAC Championship Central
