HARROGATE, Tenn. --- The Lincoln Memorial baseball team swept a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader over visiting Tusculum Saturday afternoon at Lamar Hennon Field.
The Railsplitters (19-9, 6-6 SAC) won the first game 9-8 and captured the second contest 12-7. With the wins, LMU completes the three-game sweep over the Pioneers (19-13, 8-7 SAC) for the first time since 2011.
Lincoln Memorial recorded 19 hits, but took advantage of 19 free bases thanks to 15 walks and four hit batters by Tusculum pitching. LMU pitching surrendered 22 hits in the twin-bill including three doubles, two triples and four home runs. But the Railsplitters recorded 15 strikeouts.
Game 1: Lincoln Memorial 9, Tusculum 8
In a back and forth contest which saw the lead change hands three times in the last three innings, Lincoln Memorial scored eight of its nine runs in their last two times at bat as the Railsplitters won Saturday's opener 9-8.
LMU scored three times in the bottom of the eighth including Carson Boles run-scoring fielder's choice to put the Splitters in front, 9-8. Lincoln Memorial recorded three hits in the inning including a RBI double from Ryan Kurth and a pinch-hit RBI single from Cameron Powser.
Tusculum put together a two-out rally in the top of the ninth as Blaze McCauley doubled and Tyler Ranel drew a walk to put the tying and go-ahead runs aboard. But reliever David Brian Ellison got Zane Keener would line out to center to end the game.
Ellison (2-2) picked up the victory as he went 1.2 innings, allowed two unearned runs on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts. TU reliever Trejen Fox-Birdwell (1-1) suffered his first loss of the year as he went an inning with one run on one hit and a walk.
Tusculum jumped out to a 3-0 lead to start the game as the Pioneers plated a run in the first and two in the second. Murphy Flood's two-out single in the first scored the first run of the game. In the second, Will Samuelson led off with a home run and Ben Scartz drove in McCauley with a two-out single.
LMU scored their first run of the day in the fourth as Collin Goda and Boles led off with consecutive singles and Kasten Harvey drew a walk to load the bases with zero outs. TU starting pitcher Seth Willis gave more up a sacrifice fly to Andrew Keene to score LMU's first run of the game. But Willis got a double play to end the inning.
The score would remain 3-1 until the bottom of the seventh when Gavin Whitehurst led off with a single and Bowen and Kurth followed with walks to load the bases. Drew Sliwinski took over on the mound for Willis and go ahead in the count to Tyler Boyd, but hit him with a pitch to drive in the first run of the frame. Hancock drew a walk to tie the game at 3-3 and Goda followed with a RBI single to make it a 4-3 game. Sacrifice flies by Boles and Harvey increased the LMU lead to 6-3.
The Pioneers answered LMU's five-run inning with one of its own in the top of the eighth. Luis Reyes led off with a single and scored on McCauley's two-run homer. Tusculum tied the game at 6-6 on Tyler Ranel's towering shot over the left field wall. Scartz reached on an error and he would he scored on Christian Ortega's RBI double. Ortega would score on Rudy Fernandez's two-out single for an 8-6 Tusculum lead before LMU's rally in the bottom of the frame.
Tusculum finished the game with 14 hits led by Fernandez's 3-for-5 performance while Scartz, Ortega, Luis Reyes and McCauley had two-hit games.
Game 2: Lincoln Memorial 12, Tusculum 7
Lincoln Memorial erupted for six runs in the fourth inning to spark the Railsplitters to a 12-7 win in the night-cap.
LMU overcame a 2-1 deficit and scored seven unanswered run to take an 8-2 lead.
In the fourth, Goda broke a 2-2 tie with a sacrifice fly and Mitch Petzelt later added a two-run triple to make it a 5-2 lead. Keene added a RBI double and Whitehurst capped the scoring with two-out single to put the Railsplitters ahead by six (8-2).
The Pioneers battled back in the fifth when Ranel reached on an error and Scartz singled to put the first two aboard. Ortega lined a shot to left field for a three-run blast and trim the deficit to 8-5. The Pioneers took advantage of another LMU error, along with a single and a walk to load the bases. Samuelson drew a walk to bring home Flood to make it an 8-6 contest. Christian Pencek relieved LMU starter Eli Edds and ended the inning with a double play and preserve the two-run lead.
Lincoln Memorial responded with three runs in the fifth and another in the sixth to put the game out of reach.
LMU accounted for 10 hits as Keene went 2-for-3 with two RBI and Boyd also went 2-for-3 with three runs scored.
Scartz finished with three hits for the Pioneers, while Ortega had two hits in the game.
Edds (3-2) was credited with the win as he went 4.1 innings with six hits, six runs (4 earned), walked four and struck out six. TU reliever Sam Bonilla (0-1) suffered the loss.
The Pioneers return home on Tuesday for a non-conference contest against Lee University at 6 p.m. from Pioneer Park.
