Rock Hill, S.C.----The Wingate University softball team was picked third in the pre-season South Atlantic Conference poll, voted on by the league coaches. Wingate senior catcher Brittany Barrineau (Monroe, N.C.) earned second team pre-season All-SAC honors as well.
 
Defending regular season and tournament champion Lenoir-Rhyne was the nearly unanimous preseason pick to win the 2012 league title, getting nine of 10 first-place votes. Carson-Newman was picked second, followed by Wingate and Catawba. Tusculum rounded out the top five, followed by Lincoln Memorial and Anderson. Mars Hill was picked to finish eighth, with Newberry and Brevard rounding out the preseason poll.
 
The Bulldogs went 31-15 in the 2011 season, while going 11-7 in league play. Wingate finished fourth in the conference last year. The ‘Dogs came on late in the 2011 season, winning 10 of their final 12 league games. This spurt included a seven-game winning streak.
 
Barrineau was an All-SAC and All-Region selection in the 2011 season. She led the Bulldogs with 55 hits and a .399 batting average. Barrineau had four homers, nine doubles, a triple and 28 RBI. She also had a .478 on-base percentage and a .565 slugging percentage.
 
The Bulldogs begin the 2012 season Tuesday, Feb. 7, hosting Erskine College for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Wingate then hits the road for six consecutive doubleheaders, followed by five games at the Catawba Classic Feb. 24 and 25. Following the 17-game road trip, the ‘Dogs host Belmont Abbey College Feb. 27. The Bulldogs open league play March 10, hosting Lincoln Memorial at 1 p.m.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a comprehensive university with more than 2,500 students on three campuses in Wingate, Matthews and Hendersonville, N.C. The university offers 34 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, physician assistant studies and sports administration and doctorates in pharmacy and education.
 
Wingate students gain the tools and support they need to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. The campus community offers in-class learning, out-of-class experiences, strong mentors, a competitive yet caring environment and rewarding community service opportunities for a complete educational experience.
 
Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past five years.
 
Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 42 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 51 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.
 
(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)

2012 SAC Softball Pre-season Coaches’ Poll

Team                 Points (first-place votes)
1. Lenoir-Rhyne      99 (9)
2. Carson-Newman     84
3. Wingate           77
4. Catawba           71
5. Tusculum          57
6. Lincoln Memorial  48 (1)
7. Anderson          37
8. Mars Hill         34
9. Newberry          25
10. Brevard          18

2012 SAC Softball Pre-season All-Conference Team

First Team
C – Brianna Shoemake, Carson-Newman
P – Mary Shealy, Carson-Newman
P – Dawon Millwood, Lenoir-Rhyne
1B – Jessica Fellmeth, Lenoir-Rhyne
2B – Carlee Carpenter, Lenoir-Rhyne
SS – Abby Child, Anderson
3B – Natalie Haithcox, Mars Hill
OF – Brianna Mulkey, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Jody Mizelle, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Kim Whaley, Carson-Newman
Utility – Kayla Myers, Catawba
DP – Amber Duncan, Anderson

Second Team
C – Brittany Barrineau, Wingate
P – Emily Huneycutt, Catawba
P – Elizabeth Johnson, Tusculum
1B – Allison Justice, Catawba
2B – Ashley Roof, Newberry
SS – Bridget Eicher, Lincoln Memorial
3B – Haily Jarman, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Ashley McCurry, Mars Hill
OF – Ashley Burke, Tusculum
OF – Brittany Fowler, Brevard
Utility – Chelsi Mallory, Brevard
DP – Emily Boykin, Brevard