HARROGATE, Tenn. --- Sean Cotten went 3-for-5 with two home runs and seven RBI as the Tusculum College baseball team out-slugged Lincoln Memorial University in a 23-15 South Atlantic Conference win Friday night at Hennon Field.

The Pioneers (17-13, 5-8 SAC) recorded 22 hits, including seven doubles and four home runs as TC outlasted the Railsplitters (16-14, 8-5 SAC) on a cold and chilly night in Harrogate.

Tusculum plated three runs in the first inning and never looked back as the Pioneers came one shy of tying a school single-game record for runs scored in a game (24 vs. King on Feb. 19, 1996).

Cotten's seven-RBI performance is tied for the second most ever by a Pioneer and two shy of a school mark (Ryan Priest vs. Stonehill, Mar. 7, 1999).

Tusculum's Payden Houser went 3-for-4 with two doubles and home run. Houser has accounted for four homers in his last three games. Matt Henriksen had a career night as he went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and five RBI. Henriksen tallied two doubles and his first career round-tripper.

Jared Richmond went 3-for-6 with four RBI, while Sean Finucane added three hits and scored three times in the victory.

LMU's Juan Alvarez went 4-for-6, while Gelson Perez and Cody Pack posted three hits each as the Railsplitters finished the night with 19 hits, including nine in an eight-run, ninth inning for the home team.

Tusculum junior Tyler Collins (3-1) recorded his third win of the year as he went eight innings, allowed 10 hits, seven runs, five earned, walked two and posted seven strikeouts.

TC's seven doubles are tied for the second most in school history.

The two teams will wrap up this weekend's three-game league series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

- TC -