HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Railsplitters (3-6, 2-2 SAC) rallied from two different deficits, but could not overcome a third as the Newberry Wolves (5-2, 3-1 SAC) scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning to steal a 5-3 victory in game one of a three-game South Atlantic Conference baseball series on Friday at Lamar Hennon Field.
 
On a briskly cold afternoon in Harrogate, pitching was the story early. LMU starter Brandon Jean (Franklin, Tenn.) and Newberry starter Jonathan Rosenberger traded zeroes through the first four innings, with both guys combining for nine strikeouts over that span.
 
The Wolves were the first on the board after scraping together a run with two outs in the top of the fifth. Following a couple of ground outs, Jean issued walks to Newberry's three- and four-hole hitters, Albert Baur and Jeff Sneed. Brandan Sheridan capitalized on that opportunity by plating Baur with a double into the gap in right center. Jean struck out White to cap the scoring at one.
 
The Railsplitters squandered a scoring chance in the home half of the fifth with a base running blunder, but bounced back to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth. After being limited to just two hits through the first five frames, Kelvin Brito (Yabucoa, Puerto Rico) opened up the logjam with a two-out single in the sixth. Jonathan Lowe (Sidney, Ohio) followed that up by belting a towering two-run bomb over the fence in right field, giving the Railsplitters a 2-1 lead with his first homer of the season. A walk to Kyle Floyd (Windsor, Ill.) and a single by Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) chased Rosenberger from the game, but the threat was ended by a pickoff at third base.
 
Lincoln Memorial's lead was brief as Baur singled in the top of the seventh and scored on another RBI hit by Sheridan.
 
The game remained locked in a 2-2 stalemate until the top of the ninth, when drama came in droves. JoJo Bradley led off the visitor's half of the ninth with a single, and then Baur drove a double deep into the right-center gap. Bradley was waved home on the play, but a perfectly executed relay play, capped by a nice snag and tag by Floyd, caught Bradley at the plate. That play was proved inconsequential, though, as Sheridan struck again two batters later, giving the Wolves a 3-2 lead with a his third run-scoring hit of the game.
 
The resilient Railsplitters rebounded in the ninth and gave themselves a chance to win it in regulation. Ryan Burlison (Romeoville, Ill.) led off by ripping a single through the left side of the infield. Two batters later, Wes Neiderland (Thompson Station, Tenn.) came a breath away from ending it, planting a game-tying triple off of the bottom of the fence in right center. Representing the winning run, Neiderland was left stranded at third with one out as the reliever Daniel Nations recorded the last two outs via strikeouts.
 
The Wolves would need only one extra inning to end it. Jacob Bass put Newberry in business with a one-out double, and Robert Kosch singled him in two batters later. Kosch then scored on Bradley's single down the left field line to make it a 5-3 game.
 
The Railsplitters brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the 10th, but Nations ended it with a strikeout.
 
Brandon Jean reset his career high with eight strikeouts in the no decision. The Franklin, Tenn. native allowed two earned runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. Burlison suffered the loss, falling to 0-1 on the year with two runs and four hits allowed in 1 2/3 innings of relief.
 
Augustine went 3-for-4 with a walk, improving his batting average to .483 with his third multi-hit outing in the past four games. Lowe collected a pair of hits including the two-run blast in the bottom of the sixth.
 
With inclement weather in the forecast, the Railsplitters and Wolves will complete their South Atlantic Conference series with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday morning at Lamar Hennon Field.