GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Lincoln Memorial scored nine unanswered runs and tallied 15 hits on the evening as the Railsplitters defeated host Tusculum 10-4 Friday night in a South Atlantic Conference baseball game at Pioneer Park.
LMU (18-15, 9-4 SAC) has won four of its last five games, while snapping the Pioneers' (20-9, 12-4 SAC) 11-game winning streak, their seventh longest in program history.
Eight of the nine LMU batters each recorded a hit, while Brandon Jean (5-3) pitched 6.1 strong innings to record his fifth win of the season.
The game started as a pitchers' duel between Jean and Tusculum starter Ethan Carpenter. Jean was dominant through the first six innings as he scattered three singles and did not allow a TC runner into scoring position during that span.
Meanwhile, Carpenter retired six in a row to start the game and posted five strikeouts during the first three innings. After a recording a strikeout to start the fourth, Carpenter went full on the count to Logan Augustine, before he launched a towering solo homer to center field for his ninth round-tripper of the season as LMU led 1-0.
LMU added a pair of runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth on Timmy Wages two-run blast down the left field line for a 5-0 lead. In the seventh, the Railsplitters batted around as LMU posted five hits, including Tyler Adams' two-run single to highlight a four-run inning and a 9-0 lead for the visitors.
With Jean still in the game, the Pioneers broke up the shutout bid thanks to back-to-back RBI doubles from Dante Key and Daulton Martin.
LMU added a run in the eighth thanks to a RBI single from Mason Ewers. Tusculum made some noise in the bottom of the ninth as the first four batters reached base including Cole Baxley and Seth DeHaven, who posted back-to-back RBI hits.
But LMU reliever Chase Randolph ended the game as he struck out side as the Railsplitters snapped a five-game losing streak to the Pioneers.
In the win, Jean scattered six hits, allowed two runs, one walk and struck out four.
Carpenter suffered the loss (4-3) as he went 6.1 innings, allowed eight hits, seven runs, six earned, three walks and posted nine strikeouts to give him 199 for his TC career, which are the fourth most in program history. He was making his 45th mound start of his Tusculum career, which are tied for the second-most in TC history and only one off the school record 46 made by Ryan Baker from 1997-2000.
Muta Crusoe led all batters with his 3-for-5 performance, while Seth Hunt, Russell Clark, Timmy Wages, Logan Augustine and Tyler Adams each finished with two hits apiece. Adams and Wages also contributed three RBI each while Augustine scored a game-high three runs.
Martin went 2-for-3 for the Pioneers, including his eighth double of the season, while Nick Lacina went 2-for-4 with his ninth double of the year to extend his career-best hitting streak to 16 consecutive games.
The two teams will wrap up the weekend three-game series with Saturday's 1 p.m. doubleheader at Pioneer Park.