HARROGATE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's bowling team posted a 3-1 recording in a win over No. 22 Lincoln Memorial in the opening day of the 2022 Railsplitter Classic. The three-day tournament is being held at Hillcrest Lanes and hosted by LMU.
The Pioneers finished the day with a total pinfall of 4,575 which is third in the tournament.
TU opened the tournament with an 889-859 loss to UAB as the Blazers rallied from 43-pin deficit after the first of five Baker games and chipped away to come up with the 30-pin victory.
Tusculum fell behind early in their next match against Belmont Abbey as the Crusaders jumped out to a 216-180 lead after the first game. But the Pioneers won the next three games, 167-146, 195-167, 153-116 to take command of the match and win 869-821.
Tusculum had a bye in their third match as the Pioneers bowled 943 including a 214 game in the second.
TU won the third match 965-924 over 22nd-ranked Lincoln Memorial. The Railsplitters won the first game 175-158, but Tusculum answered in the second game with a 202-176 win as TU went up by nine pins in the match (360-351). LMU won the third game 202-192 to retake the lead by a single pin. But the Pioneers answered with a 203-182 win in the fourth and closed out the victory over the Railsplitters with a 210-189 in the fifth game.
In the final match of the day, the Pioneers rallied from behind again with a 939-884 victory over Mercyhurst. MU opened with a 191-169 win in the first game, but the Pioneers answered with a 43-pin win in the second to go up nine. Mercyhurst cut into the TU lead with a 196-176 win in the third as the Pioneers lead was trimmed to one. Tusculum won the fourth game 191-175 and the fifth 190-152 to secure the win.
The tournament continues on Saturday with traditional scored matches followed by Sunday's Best-of-7 Baker match format to wrap up the weekend's festivities.
