MORRISTOWN, Tenn. --- Bridget Eicher's two-run home run in the top of the first inning accounted for all the scoring as Lincoln Memorial University defeated Tusculum College 2-0 in an elimination game of the 2011 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Tournament Thursday at Walters State Community College.
Katie-Jo Gentry (10-14) worked 4 1/3 innings for the victory and Cierra Mudd escaped a sixth-inning jam to pick up her third save for the eighth-seeded Lady Railsplitters (28-23), who advanced to play seventh-seeded Brevard later Thursday afternoon.
The Pioneers (32-17) finished with a 6-5 advantage in hits but left eight runners on base in the loss, which eliminated Tusculum from the tournament. Tusculum's 32 victories were the most for the program since joining NCAA Division II in 1999.
LMU took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning off Tusculum starter Elizabeth Johnson, as Taylor McGinnis singled with two outs and Eicher drove the next pitch over the fence in right for her seventh home run of the season.
Gentry did not allow a hit until Shanda Kimbrough doubled to left with one out in the fourth inning. Ashley Burke followed with a double down the line in right to move Kimbrough to third, but Mudd relieved and induced a pair of groundouts to preserve the 2-0 lead.
The Pioneers mounted another rally in the fifth against Gentry, advancing a runner to second with one out. However, a fielder's choice grounder cut down the runner at second, and Gentry ended the inning with a strikeout.
Mudd returned in the sixth and struck out the first two batters she faced, but gave up consecutive singles to Burke, Katy Stuckwish and Katie Brennan to load the bases with two outs. With the tying run on second, Mudd came through with a strikeout to retain the Lady Railsplitter lead.
Tusculum had one final chance in the bottom of the seventh, as an error allowed the leadoff batter to reach. However, a fielder's choice and a popup double play brought the game and the season to a close for the Pioneers.
Johnson (17-5) was the hard-luck loser in the game, allowing just five hits and no walks while striking out four. She finished the season with a sparkling 1.16 earned run average in 157 1/3 innings, with 19 complete games and seven shutouts in 24 starts.
Thursday's game was the final career contest for three Pioneer seniors - Taylor MacDonald, Kimbrough and Erin Searcy. MacDonald, a 2011 second-team All-SAC honoree, finished her career with 140 hits, Kimbrough tallied 87 career hits and Searcy posted a 20-21 record with 172 strikeouts in 242 innings over two seasons.
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