HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Railsplitters (2-4, 1-0 SAC) used a four-run fifth inning and a nearly flawless relief appearance from senior Nick Morabito (Vienna, Va.) to collect an 8-6 win over the Wingate Bulldogs (3-1, 0-1 SAC) in the home and South Atlantic Conference baseball opener on Friday night at Lamar Hennon Field. Lincoln Memorial won its SAC lid lifter for the first time since the 2012 campaign, topping the Bulldogs for just the third time in the last 12 meetings.
 
Home runs were the story early for both teams. LMU starting pitcher Brandon Jean (Franklin, Tenn.) struck out the first two batters of the contest, but Thomas Spitz and Josh Clark hammered back-to-back homers in the next two plate appearances to put the Bulldogs in front. The Railsplitters countered with a big fly in the home half of that inning, as Kelvin Brito (Yabucoa, Puerto Rico) blasted a two-run bomb – his first of the season - to even the score after one.
 
Jean then wiggled out of a pair of jams in the second and third frames. A Bradley Brown double and two hit-by-pitches loaded the bases for the Bulldogs in the second frame, but Jean made a nice snag on the mound and turned a 1-2-3 double play. The next inning, a Spitz single and Clark walk put two runners on with one out. Jean caught Clark sleeping at first base and picked off the Bulldog catcher, then fanned Brad Cherry to end the threat.
 
Another scoring opportunity opened up for the Railsplitters in the fourth frame, as Wes Neiderland (Thompson Station, Tenn.) and Scott Miller (Knoxville, Tenn.) singled and Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. Brito and Jonathan Lowe (Sidney, Ohio) plated a run apiece with sacrifice fly outs.
 
The Bulldogs stranded two more runners in the fourth frame, but their constant pressure finally paid off in the visitor's half of the fifth. A Colby Barnette double and Spitz single put runners on the corners with no outs. Jean struck out Clark and induced a groundout in the following at-bat before Bradley Brown knotted the game at 4-4 with a two-run base hit to right field. Blake Prince followed that up by smashing Wingate's third long ball of the game, staking the Bulldogs to a 6-4 lead.
 
Resiliently, the Railsplitters responded. Neiderland, Miller and Kalman singled in the first three at-bats of the fifth, and Kalman's base knock scored Neiderland to pull the home team within one run. A strikeout and fielder's choice looked like it might cut the inning short, but Kyle Floyd (Windsor, Ill.) kept the inning rolling and gave the Railsplitters the lead for good by roping a triple down the right-field line. Logan Augustine (Carbondale, Iowa) provided an insurance run in the next plate appearance by squeaking a single over the second baseman's glove.
 
From there, the Railsplitters rode the right arm of relief pitcher Nick Morabito, who befuddled the Bulldogs over four solid innings of work. Morabito allowed just three singles and struck out four over that span, keeping Wingate in check through the sixth, seventh and eighth frames.
 
Things got sticky in the top of the ninth, though, as Barnette opened the frame by dropping a bloop-single just in front of Neiderland in center field. After a pair of lineouts, Cherry and Brown walked to load the bases with no outs. But senior Ryan Burlison (Romeoville, Ill.) was called to the mound from his shortstop position and induced an unassisted putout at second base, picking up his second save of the 2015 campaign.
 
Jean was handed a no decision after allowing six earned runs, nine hits and striking out seven over 4 2/3 innings of work. Morabito was credited with the win, improving to 1-0 on the season.
 
Floyd went 2-for-3 in the game with a pair of RBI and a run scored, while Neiderland compiled his fourth multi-hit game in just his sixth appearance. Augustine and Miller added a pair of hits apiece, while Brito drove in three runs with a home run and a sac fly.
 
Wingate compiled 12 hits in the contest, but stranded 10 runners on the base paths. The Railsplitters left only four runners on base.
 
The Railsplitters and Bulldogs complete their SAC series with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday.