FOREST CITY, N.C. --- A seven-run fifth inning erased a 3-0 deficit and propelled Lincoln Memorial University to an 8-6 victory over Tusculum College in the third game of the 2011 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament Wednesday night at McNair Field.

The Railsplitters (29-20) advance to play Wingate in a winners bracket game Thursday night at 7:30 p.m., while the Pioneers (31-15) will look to stave off elimination when they face Newberry at 3:45 p.m. Thursday afternoon.

LMU sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs on seven hits, aided by two costly Tusculum errors that resulted in five of the runs being unearned. The Pioneers mounted a late rally and had the tying run at second base in the ninth inning before Railsplitter reliever Steven Starbird (Rutledge, Tenn.) came up with a strikeout to end the game and earn the save.

All nine Railsplitters finished with at least one hit in the contest, with Nolan Woody (Chattanooga, Tenn.) going 2-for-4 and Cody Baker (Knoxville, Tenn.) 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. The Pioneers were led by Sean Cotten (Mooresville, N.C.) who was 2-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored along with a stolen base. Rolondo Bonner (Garner, N.C.) and Branfy Arias (La Romana, D.R.) also went 2-for-5 for the Pioneers as part of a 10-hit attack.

Andy Fennell (Knoxville, Tenn.) worked 6 1/3 innings for the Railsplitters to earn the win, improving to 5-1 as he gave up six hits and four earned runs while walking four and striking out five over 127 pitches. Starbird threw the final 2 2/3 innings for the save, striking out three.

Tusculum took a 1-0 lead in the second as Trey Drewery (Vale, N.C.) led off with a single and came home on a two-out double down the line in left by Arias. The Pioneers added two more runs in the third on an RBI groundout by Cody Coffman (Cape Coral, Fla.) and a sacrifice fly from Matt Henriksen (Hingham, Mass) for a 3-0 lead.

Pioneer starter Craig Goodman (Clearwater, Fla.) held the Railsplitters to one hit through four innings, but with one out in the fifth the LMU bats came to life as Woody singled up the middle and Joseph Horsley followed with his third home run of the season to deep left to cut the Tusculum lead to 3-2.

Back-to-back errors by the Pioneers kept the inning alive, and consecutive singles by Cody Pack (Andersonville, Tenn.) and John Couch (Bonnyman, Ky.) pushed LMU ahead 4-3. The Railsplitters added three more runs in the frame on an RBI double by Gelson Perez (Gurabo, P.R.), a sacrifice fly by Eric Kitts (Blaine, Tenn.) and an infield single by Deaun Williams (Beech Grove, Ind.) to take a 7-3 lead.

Tusculum cut the deficit to 7-4 in the seventh on a pinch-hit RBI single by Aaron Guinn (Norris, Tenn.) but LMU regained their four-run lead in the bottom of the inning on an RBI infield single by Baker.

In the ninth, the Pioneers pulled within 8-5 as Cotten led off the inning with a double against Starbird and scored on a single up the middle by Coffman. Tusculum loaded the bases with one out, and scored on a groundout by Payden Houser (Lincolnton, N.C.) to cut the LMU lead to 8-6. However, Starbird fanned Arias on a 2-2 pitch to close the game.

Goodman fell to 7-4 after allowing seven runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings, while striking out five. Michael Franklin (Kings Mountain, N.C.) followed with an inning of scoreless relief and Billy Sivyer (Knoxville, Tenn.) closed out the game on the mound for the Pioneers by tossing 2 2/3 innings of two-hit ball with three strikeouts.

- TC -