HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Railsplitters (4-7, 3-3 SAC) and Newberry Wolves (6-3, 3-3 SAC) combined for 51 runs on Saturday afternoon as the two teams split a South Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader at Lamar Hennon Field.
The Wolves scored nine runs in the first inning of game one and never looked back, piling up 20 hits in a 20-7 win. Lincoln Memorial bounced back and salvaged the series with a 15-9 triumph in the nightcap.
Game One: Newberry 20, Lincoln Memorial 7Newberry nearly batted around twice in the top of the first inning, racking up six hits and nine runs to put the Railsplitters in a hole in which they would never recover.
Grant Painter (Knoxville, Tenn.) walked the first two batters he faced before serving up a three-run home run to Albert Baur. The next batter flew out, but Brandan Sheridan tripled down the right-field line, Zach White walked and Ben Herring drove in another with a double. The inning continued to snowball as a D.J. Martinez double, along with an error in the infield, plated three runs. Jeff Sneed capped the scoring with a two-run double.
The Railsplitters got a run back in the bottom of the first on a run-scoring double by
Jonathan Lowe (Sidney, Ohio), while
Scott Miller (Knoxville, Tenn.) drove in two more runs with a single in the home half of the second.
But that effort was totally undone in the visitor's half of the third as the Wolves compiled five more runs. Sheridan and White drove in two runs apiece in the inning with a single and a triple.
Newberry starter Wesley Camp stifled the Railsplitters for the remainder of his stay, while the Wolves poured on four more runs in the top of the sixth. Martinez's two-run double was the big at-bat of that inning. The visitors hit the 20-run mark in the eighth inning on a two-run double by Sheridan.
The Railsplitters scraped a few runs together late in the contest to bolster their offensive stats.
Tanner Latham (Knoxville, Tenn.) plated two runs with a single in the bottom of the eighth, while
Muta Crusoe (Bellwood, Ill.) drew a bases-loaded walk in that same inning.
Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) produced the Railsplitters' final run on an RBI fielder's choice in the ninth.
Jean Rodriguez (Caguas, Puerto Rico),
Ryan Burlison (Romeoville, Ill.) and Latham contributed two hits apiece. Both Latham and Miller drove in two runs each.
The Railsplitters used seven pitchers to maneuver through the Wolves' potent lineup.
Jake Mills (McCordsville, Ind.) and
Drew Lyles (Cleveland, Tenn.) were the most effective. Mills struck out two batters and allowed a lone hit in an inning of work, while Lyles served up just one hit in the ninth frame.
Game Two: Lincoln Memorial 15, Newberry 9The Wolves rallied with two outs in the top of the first to put the Railsplitters in an early hole. Baur and Sheridan walked around a Sneed single to load the bases, and White plated two runs with a double into left center. An error in the outfield allowed another run to score on the play as Newberry jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
The Railsplitters went scoreless in the bottom of the first, but the home team would score in each of the next five innings.
Augustine led off the second with a walk, and
Kyle Floyd (Windsor, Ill.) put the Railsplitters within one by powering a two-run home run through a stiff wind over the left-center field fence.
Newberry got both of those runs back in the third on run-scoring hits by Baur and Sneed, but the Railsplitters took the lead for good with a four-run outburst in the bottom of that frame.
Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) plated
Wes Neiderland (Thompson Station, Tenn.) with a single back up the box, while Augustine drove two runs home with a double into the right-center gap. A throwing error by the Wolves' catcher allowed Augustine to score on the play, pushing the Railsplitters in front 6-5.
The Railsplitters put the game out of reach in the fourth frame, scoring seven runs on six hits. Lowe opened up the scoring with a two-run single, while Floyd drove in two more with a base hit back up the middle.
Kelvin Brito (Yabucoa, Puerto Rico) dropped a bloop single into right field that scored a pair of runs, and Brito came around to score on a single by Burlison.
Newberry scored a pair of runs in both the fifth and sixth frames, but the Railsplitters kept them at bay by scoring a run in each of those same innings. Neiderland scored in the fifth on an infield error, while Burlison plated Floyd in the sixth.
Wes Todd (Franklin, Tenn.) earned his first win of the season, improving to 1-1 after allowing seven hits and five earned runs in four-plus innings of work. Burlison was nearly perfect in 1 1/3 innings of relief, allowing just one hit and walking one in a scoreless showing.
Floyd was 3-for-4 in the game with four RBI and three runs scored, while Burlison went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI. Neiderland, Miller and Augustine each finished with two hits as the Railsplitters matched a season-high with 16 hits.
The Railsplitters travel to Greeneville, Tenn. next weekend for a three-game SAC series against the Tusculum Pioneers. First pitch in game one is set for 4 p.m. on Friday, February 20.
