COLUMBUS, Ga. -- Junior pitcher Samantha Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) tossed a complete-game shutout to lift the Lincoln Memorial University softball team (7-5) to a doubleheader split on Saturday at the CSU Cougar Classic II in Columbus, Ga.
 
Smith went the distance and the Lady Railsplitters scored two early runs in a 2-0 win over the Flagler Saints in game one, while Columbus State rallied from a three-run deficit and walked off with a 4-3 win in the afternoon's second game.
 
Game One: Lincoln Memorial 2, Flagler 0
 
Smith led the Lady Railsplitters to their second win over the Saints in a week, giving up just six hits without a run over seven innings of work. The Knoxville, Tenn. native struck out five batters and walked only one over that span.
 
Lincoln Memorial squandered an opportunity to jump on Flagler in the top of the first as Emilee Solomon (Knoxville, Tenn.) led off with a single and Meredith Johnson (Kenly, N.C.) was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with one out. But a line out and a fielder's choice ended the threat.
 
The Lady Railsplitters would notch the only runs of the game in the top of the third frame, and Solomon started the rally once again with a leadoff double into left center. Kelly Dreier (Knoxville, Tenn.) singled in the next at-bat, and Solomon came around to score on a subsequent throwing error on the play. Dreier advanced to third base on a base hit from Ashlea Hunter (Woodruff, S.C.), and she scored on a passed ball to give the Lady Railsplitters a 2-0 cushion.
 
Flagler put a runner in scoring position in two different innings down the stretch. Maddy Murphy singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth, but Smith struck out Mackenzie Conley to end the threat. In the bottom of the sixth, Tori Volz and Malloree Escue singled in back-to-back at-bats with one out. The two advanced to second and third on a ground out, but Smith forced pinch hitter Rachel Hudson into a lineout.
 
Solomon went 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Dreier, Hunter and Kristen McAndrew (Belmont, N.C.) contributed the only other hits of the game for the Lady Railsplitters.
 
Game Two: Columbus State 4, Lincoln Memorial 3 (8 innings)
 
The Lady Railsplitters piled it on the host Cougars in the top of the second inning to jump out to a commanding lead. Jaclyn Cokeroft (Longwood, Fla.) walked and Teddi Collins (Germantown, Ohio) singled to put two runners on with no outs, and Cokeroft came around to score on a single from Jennifer Moose (Statesville, N.C.). Dreier drove in Collins two batters later with a base knock, while Johnson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to send the third run of the inning home.
 
Lincoln Memorial had a chance to accumulate more runs in that frame with the bases loaded and one out, but a strikeout and pop up kept the score at 3-0.
 
The Cougars bounced right back, though, combining for three runs in the next two innings. Kia Smith cut the deficit to 3-2 with a two-run, two-out double in the bottom of the second, while McKenzie Fagioli led off the bottom of the third with a solo home run.
 
The next three innings passed without consequence, but the Lady Railsplitters very nearly put together a two-out rally to take the lead in the top of the seventh. After back-to-back ground outs, Amanda Snow (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Cokeroft singled to put the potential game-winning run in scoring position. A strikeout stonewalled that opportunity, though.
 
The Cougars went down in one-two-three order in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra innings.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were unable to manufacture a run in the top of the eighth as Collins, the runner placed at second to start the inning, was struck down in a double play at third base. The Cougars then walked off with the 4-3 victory on a RBI fielder's choice from Lindsey DeFee in the bottom half of the eighth.
 
Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.) made the start, allowing six hits and three earned runs over 2 1/3 innings work. Smith tossed the final five innings in relief, suffering the loss despite not giving up an earned run over that span. She struck out three, did not walk a batter and allowed just three hits.
 
Solomon went 0-for-3 in the contest, ending a career-long 11-game hitting streak. Dreier and Moose both contributed two hits to the Lady Railsplitters' eight-hit total.
 
The Lady Railsplitters complete the CSU Classic II on Sunday against Bellarmine (11 a.m.) and Columbus State (3 p.m.).