WINGATE, N.C. – Six days after earning his first career save, ace reliever Quinton Driggers notched his second in 16th-ranked Newberry's thrilling 8-5 win at Wingate to open a South Atlantic Conference series.
 
Driggers, who is tied for the all-divisions NCAA led with a 7-0 record in 16 relief appearances this season, saved his first-ever game in Newberry's (29-7, 12-1 SAC) 6-2 win over Anderson on Saturday. He took over for Charlie Fessler to begin the sixth inning at Wingate (23-10, 9-4 SAC) and was tremendous in his four innings of work.
 
The junior left-hander allowed no walks, two hits, and racked up six strikeouts on the evening. He lowered his ERA to a conference-best 1.49 and upped his strikeout total to 59, most among SAC relievers.
 
The Wolves halted an eight-game winning streak by Wingate while extending their own streak to 10 games. Newberry now has two streaks of double-digit wins this season following a 13-game stretch that lasted nearly a month in the early part of the season.
 
The evenly-matched affair saw Newberry build leads of 3-0 and 5-3 in the second and fifth innings only for Wingate to even the score in the bottom of each frame. The Wolves took the lead for good in the top of the sixth, with Dalton Lansdowne's RBI double providing the difference as Newberry cashed in on a Wingate throwing error that helped Nick Butler advance to third following a leadoff single.
 
Zane Tarrance was Newberry's primary offensive catalyst. The freshman right fielder set a career high with four hits in five at-bats, scored a run, and provided a critical insurance run with an RBI double in the eighth.
 
Tyler Ackard, Nick Butler, and Lansdowne each finished with two hits, helping Newberry to a 14-9 lead in the hits column. Lansdowne extended his hitting streak to 17 games, best on the team this season, while Danton Hyman had a hit and a walk to push his reached-base streak to 43 games dating back to 2018.
 
Charlie Fessler earned the win to improve his record to 4-3 on the season. He allowed five runs on seven hits in his five innings of work, striking out three batters with two walks. Newberry touched up Wingate starter Austin Turgeon, handing him just his second loss of the 2019 campaign by plating six runs on 11 hits in 5.1 innings.
 
The Bulldogs took advantage of the long ball, scoring four of their five runs on home runs. Hunter Dula led Wingate offensively with a single, a double, and a solo home run.
 
The Wolves and Bulldogs will settle the season series with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.