Wingate University Softball
Season in Review

The Wingate University softball team had numerous accomplishments this season, on and off the field. The Bulldogs set a new school single-season win record with a 47-11 overall ledger. The 47 wins included two victories in the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional tournament.

Wingate junior catcher Mandi Chester (Charlotte, N.C.) earned a spot on the 2006 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II All-America second team. Chester is the first Wingate player to receive such an honor. The junior backstop batted .386 with 14 home runs, 52 RBI, 42 runs scored, 12 doubles and a .726 slugging percentage. Chester also handled a pitching staff that compiled a 1.97 ERA, 16 shutouts and 294 strikeouts. Defensively, she had a .994 fielding percentage with eight pickoffs. Chester cut down seven of 25 base stealers.

The top six hitters in the Bulldog lineup were named to the 2006 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division II All-South Atlantic Region team. Lead-off hitter Kimee Lewis, third hitter Grace Cunningham, cleanup hitter Sarah Carleton, fifth hitter Mandi Chester and sixth hitter Megan McPhail were members of the first team. Second hitter Hallie Pettigrew was honored as a second team member.

Lead-off hitter and junior outfielder Kimee Lewis (Farmington, Utah) batted .374 with 79 hits, 47 runs, 24 RBI, 10 stolen bases and 10 triples. The speedy, slap-hitting Lewis ranked seventh in the nation with 0.17 triples per game. The junior transfer from Odessa College started the season by hitting safely in her first 19 games. The 19-game hitting streak was the highest for a Bulldog this year. Lewis also established two new Wingate single-season record with 10 triples and 211 at-bats.

Second hitter and freshman third baseman Hallie Pettigrew (Uniontown, Ohio) ended her freshman campaign with a .409 batting average. Another Bulldog slap hitter, she recorded 72 hits, 46 runs, 24 RBI, two doubles and a team-high .475 on-base percentage in 2006. In NCAA Division II, Pettigrew ranked 25th with 0.28 sacrifice hits per game. Playing the hot corner, she committed only seven errors in 160 total chances, compiling a solid .956 fielding percentage.

Third hitter and senior shortstop Grace Cunningham (Camden, S.C.) may have had the best overall offensive season for the Bulldogs. Cunningham led the team with a .412 batting average, 84 hits, 16 home runs and 67 RBI. She also added 12 doubles, 54 runs, two triples, two stolen bases and six sacrifice hits.

Cunningham set four new Wingate single-season records with 16 home runs, 67 RBI, 84 hits and 149 total bases. Her 16 home runs are an all-time best in the SAC. With three home runs in the first game of the 2006 Food Lion SAC tournament championship series, Cunningham set a SAC record for home runs in a game as the Bulldogs shattered the team record for home runs in a game with seven long balls. Cunningham hit a team-high seven home runs in postseason play.

Cleanup hitter and senior first baseman Sarah Carleton (Powhatan, Va.) had a rock-solid season for the Wingate softball team. She compiled a .391 batting average, 15 home runs, 65 RBI, 13 doubles and scored a team-high 55 runs.

Carleton concludes her illustrious career playing in 196 games with a .380 batting average in 626 at-bats. She has career totals of 238 hits, 52 doubles, 30 home runs, 166 RBI, 153 runs, nine triples, nine stolen bases and a career on-base percentage of .425.

Sixth hitter and junior second baseman Megan McPhail (Wade, N.C.) batted .378 with 29 RBI, 35 runs, one triple, one home run and a team-high 15 doubles. McPhail was also a perfect 10-for-10 in stolen bases and had an on-base percentage of .414.

Wingate had the top eight hitters in its lineup make the first team All-South Atlantic Conference. Add Joy Henry and Courtney Wagner to the six All-SAR players to get the first team selections. Also, pitcher Ashley Green earned second team All-SAC honors.

Seventh hitter and junior outfielder Joy Henry (Virginia Beach, Va.) batted .345 on the season with 24 RBI, 35 runs, 11 doubles and six triples. One of three Wingate slap hitting regulars, Henry reached base at a .391 clip.

The number eight hitter and sophomore designated player Courtney Wagner (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) had the production totals of a 3-4-5 hitter. Wagner batted .308 with 35 RBI, five doubles and 22 runs scored. Wagner had 156 at-bats with only six strikeouts, ranking her 20th in the nation in the toughest-to-strikeout category.

Junior pitcher Ashley Green (Charleston, S.C.) was stellar in the pitching circle for the Bulldogs, especially in the postseason. Her postseason ERA was 1.24 with 44 strikeouts. Green held opponents to a .171 batting average. Green made eight starts in the postseason and tossed two shutouts. Green was honored as the 2006 Food Lion SAC Tournament MVP as she led Wingate to the title.

For the year, Green had a 1.51 ERA in 195 1/3 innings, 176 strikeouts, eight shutouts and held opponents to a .203 batting average. Green tied the school record for win in a season with 27.

The Bulldogs also earned many honors for their work in the classroom. Six Bulldogs made the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III second team. The honorees were Carleton, Chester, Cunningham, Green, McPhail and Wagner.

Chester, Cunningham, Green, Lewis, McPhail, Pettigrew, Wagner, Lindsay Moore (Jupiter, Fla.), Katie Parmalee (Norwalk, Conn.) and Lauren Powell (Midlothian, Va.) all earned spots on the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. In addition, Chester was honored as the 2006 SAC Scholar Athlete for softball.

The Wingate University softball team was ranked 18th on the 2004-05 NCAA Division II Academic Scholar-Athlete team GPA list, released in December by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) at the organization’s annual convention. The Bulldogs were the only team from the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Region to make this prestigious list.

The 2006 season was a historical year for the Wingate softball program. Head coach Michelle Caddigan won her 300th game in early March against the University of Indianapolis. In 10 Wingate seasons, Caddigan has compiled a 336-160-2 overall record.

The team set new offensive records in batting average (.358), slugging percentage (.526), on-base percentage (.396), hits (583), triples (22), home runs (50), RBI (351) and total bases (858).

The pitching staff also broke a few records of their own, including most wins (48), fewest losses (11), shutouts (16) and batters faced (1536). Defensively, Wingate established a new high in fielding percentage (.974) and a new low in errors (40).

(Wingate University sports information intern Joe Weidman contributed this article. In addition to his duties in the sports information office, Weidman provided color commentary for the Wingate University Sports Network during the spring of 2006.)