HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Railsplitters (3-5, 2-1 SAC) compiled 26 hits and 18 runs to split a South Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader with the Wingate Bulldogs (4-2, 1-2 SAC) on Saturday afternoon at Lamar Hennon Field. Senior Scott Miller (Knoxville, Tenn.) fronted a lethal offensive attack in game one, going 4-for-4 with two runs scored in an 11-8 victory. The Railsplitters blasted three home runs in game two, but the Bulldogs scored five runs in the top of the seventh to salvage the series with an 11-7 win.
 
Lincoln Memorial took two of three from Wingate for the first time since 2011, winning its SAC opening series for the third time in the past four years.
 
Game One - Lincoln Memorial 11, Wingate 8
 
Offense stole the show in Saturday's first game as there was only one inning in which neither team scored a single run.
 
The two teams traded punches in the first frame, with Thomas Spitz doubling home Colby Barnette for the Bulldogs and Jonathan Lowe (Sidney, Ohio) eliciting a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch in the home half of the first. The Railsplitters jumped in front in the second inning, though, as Miller and Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) drove in a run apiece with back-to-back singles.
 
After LMU starting pitcher Grant Painter (Knoxville, Tenn.) shutdown the Bulldogs in the third and fourth frames, the Railsplitters added two more runs in the home half of the fourth. Ryan Burlison (Romeoville, Ill.) led off the inning with the first of his two home runs on the day, while Kalman drove in Wes Neiderland (Thompson Station, Tenn.) with a sacrifice fly out.
 
The next two innings saw the Bulldogs break back into the scoring column and eventually regain the lead. Michael Godinez homered and Josh Clark plated another run with a single into left center, cutting the deficit to 5-3. Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) got one of those runs back in the home half of the fifth, obliterating a solo home run onto the hill in right field. That was Augustine's first career dinger.
 
Things came unraveled for the Railsplitters in the sixth inning as a pair of walks and an infield error scored a run and put runners at the corners with only one out. The top of the Bulldog order took advantage of that opportunity, as Shane Billings plated a run with a base hit and Barnette drove in two more with a single through the left side of the infield. All told, Wingate took over a 7-6 lead by scoring four runs on a pair of hits in the frame.
 
The Railsplitters trailed into the seventh, but Augustine led off that stanza with a double, moved to third on a fly out and scored on Burlison's ground out to even the game at 7-7.
The floodgates then opened up for the Railsplitters in the eighth frame. Following a Miller double, a single by Kelvin Brito (Yabucoa, Puerto Rico) and an intentional free pass to Lowe, Kyle Floyd (Windsor, Ill.) gave the Railsplitters the lead for good with an RBI single back up the middle. Augustine drew an RBI walk to double the lead. Lincoln Memorial then added two more runs in the inning thanks to Danny Valdez (Orlando, Fla.). Valdez plated a run on a fielder's choice and then instigated a run down at first that allowed Floyd to score.
 
The Bulldogs scored a run in the ninth, but Burlison eventually shut the door on LMU's 11-8 victory.
 
Nick Morabito (Vienna, Va.) picked up his second win in as many days after coming on in relief of Painter. Morabito did not allow a single hit or run over 2 1/3 innings of work, improving to 2-0 on the season. Painter tossed 5 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits and three earned runs in the no decision.
 
Miller went 4-for-4 and reached based in all five of his plate appearances, while Augustine was 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored. Floyd was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Burlison went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored, while Brito was 2-for-4 with a walk. Five of LMU's nine hitters finished with multiple hits in the contest.
 
Game Two - Wingate 11, Lincoln Memorial 7
 
The Bulldogs scored in each of the first four innings, but the Railsplitters produced at the same rate and collided with Wingate in a 6-6 tie after four innings.
 
Wingate raced out to a 3-0 lead by the midway point of the second inning. Thomas Spitz scored on a wild pitch in the top of the first, while Tyler Napierala blasted a two-run bomb in his first plate appearance of the series in the top of the second frame.
 
The Railsplitters got a run back in the bottom of the second as Neiderland drove in Augustine, who struck out and reached base safely on a wild pitch. But the Bulldogs catapulted the lead back to 5-1 on a titanic two-run homer off the bat of Josh Clark in the top of the third.
 
The ball continued to fly out of the park at an accelerated rate, with the next five combined runs being scored on four home runs. The Railsplitters rallied all the way back to tie the game at 5-5 with three big flies in the home portion of the third. Brito belted his first of the season to open up the flurry, and Floyd followed suit two batters later, making it a one-run game with his mammoth two-run blast. Burlison then tied the game with a solo shot to left center.
 
That lead was short-lived, though, as Godinez powered the Bulldogs back in front 6-5 with a leadoff, solo home run in the fourth. The Railsplitters answered once more in their plate appearance in the fourth, tying the contest on Brito's deep fly out to center.
 
The fifth and sixth innings past without incident, but Wingate exploded in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach. Barnette and Spitz singled, while Clark walked to load the bases with no outs. A balk scored the first run of the inning, and an error then sent Spitz across the dish. Bradley Brown drove in a run with a sacrifice fly out and Billings added a pair of insurance runs with a two-run single back up the middle. That inning proved disastrous as the Bulldogs scored five runs on three hits to take an 11-6 lead into the final frame.
 
The Railsplitters added a single run on Burlison's RBI single, but that would be the only run they would get in the series finale.
 
Burlison led the offense with a pair of hits and two RBI. Floyd finished Saturday's second game with two RBI, two runs scored and a big fly. Neiderland went 2-for-5 at the top of the Railsplitters' order.
 
Chase Randolph (Harriman, Tenn.) dazzled in four innings of relief work for the Railsplitters, allowing only three hits and one earned run with four strikeouts. Augustine was saddled with the loss - he surrendered four runs and two hits in a 1/3 of an inning.
 
Lincoln Memorial completed its series with Wingate with 36 hits, six home runs and 11 extra-base hits. The Railsplitters are batting .313 as a team in the wake of that three-game set.
 
The Railsplitters welcome the Newberry Wolves to Lamar Hennon Field next weekend for a three-game South Atlantic Conference series. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday, February 13.