FOREST CITY, N.C. --- Lincoln Memorial scored a run in the seventh inning and three in the eighth as the fifth-seeded Railsplitters rallied for an 8-7 victory over No. 3 seed Tusculum in the winners' bracket semifinal on day two of the 2013 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament at McNair Field.
LMU advances to Sunday's 9 a.m. contest as they will face the winner of the Tusculum/Carson-Newman elimination game, which will be played later Saturday afternoon.
LMU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, only to see TC get a run in the fourth, four in the fifth and one in the sixth as the Pioneers (29-17) led 6-4.
LMU's Curt Fuqua went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and three runs scored to lead the offense. Andre Rodriguez added a pair of hits, an RBI and a run scored, while Josh Coker also went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. Nolan Woody added pair of hits including a double, scoring a run for LMU while Cody Baker scored three times for the Railsplitters (24-23).
TC's Cade Stallings went three-for-five with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored. Jalen Shuffler was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, while Heath Comerford was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Joe Polichetti had a hit and two runs scored for the Pioneers (29-17).
LMU scored four runs in the first inning as the Railsplitters sent 10 batters to the plate. The first five all reached base, including three walks and a double off of TC starter Adam Sigmon. Fuqua plated the first run with an RBI double to left. The next two runs scored on wild pitches, while an RBI single from Coker made it 4-0.
TC reliever Billy Sivyer came aboard with no outs in the first to relieve Sigmon and limited the LMU damage as the Pioneers trailed by the four-run deficit.
Tusculum got on the board in the fourth inning as TC stringed along three consecutive two-out singles, including an RBI single from Matt Henriksen. The Pioneers scored four times in the fifth to take the lead. The first run scored on a wild pitch, while Shuffler's RBI single made it 4-3. Stallings added an RBI double down the right field line to tie it, while a sacrifice fly from Comerford gave TC a 5-4 lead.
Tusculum took a 6-4 lead in the sixth thanks to a pair of LMU errors. Lincoln Memorial got the tying runs on base via back-to-back walks with no outs against Sivyer. TC brought in two-time All-SAC relief specialist John-Austin Shepard. After giving up a single to load the bases, Shepard surrendered just a run on a sacrifice fly, sandwiched between two strokeouts.
The Railsplitters scored three times in the eighth to regain the lead. Coker started the inning with a double, then went to third on a bunt single from Nolan Woody. Coker would score on a wild pitch to tie the game at six. A fly ball to deep right was then dropped, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Rodriguez added an RBI single to right to give LMU an 8-6 lead.
Stallings started the ninth with a double and advanced to third base on Comerford's single to place runners on the corners. Stallings scored on a wild pitch and Comerford moved into scoring position representing the tying run. Coker came in from left field to pitch as and posted a strikeout and a groundout for the first two outs of the inning. With the Comerford representing the tying run at third base, Coker struck out the final batter to preserve the LMU win.
LMU reliever Ian Creager picked up the win to improve to 4-3 on the season as he allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits in 3.2 innings, while striking out three. Coker notched his third save of the year, striking out two in one inning of work. Shepard took the loss, falling to 6-2. He allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits in two innings, striking out four and walking one.
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