COLUMBUS, Ga. -- Sophomore first baseman Meredith Johnson (Kenly, N.C.) hammered a pair of home runs to lift the Lincoln Memorial University softball team (8-6) to a doubleheader split at the CSU Cougar Classic II on Sunday in Columbus, Ga.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were limited to just six hits and committed a season-high four errors in a 5-0 loss to the Bellarmine Knights in game one. In the day's second game against Columbus State, Lincoln Memorial went into the bottom of the sixth trailing 5-2 and piled six runs in that inning to steal an 8-5 victory over the host Cougars.
 
Game One: Bellarmine 5, Lincoln Memorial 0
 
Bellarmine's Alecia Miller and Allison Foster combined to shut out the Lady Railsplitters with a pair of stellar performances on the mound. Miller tossed four innings in the start, allowing four hits and striking out two over that span. Foster surrender just two hits in two innings of relief with five strikeouts.
 
Foster was also responsible for the first run of the game as she reached on an error to lead off the top of the first and later scored on a single by Scarlett Powers.
 
The extent of the Lady Railsplitters' offense through the first three innings was a two-out single by Johnson in the bottom of the first and another two-out base knock from Megan Tice (Orlando, Fla.) in the second stanza.
 
The Knights rallied for two more runs in the top of the fourth as Kelly Ely doubled and Rachel Fox singled for Tabby Shewmaker, who drove them both in with a single into left field. A two-out error then allowed Shewmaker to score two batters later to extend the Bellarmine cushion to 3-0.
 
The Lady Railsplitters had their best scoring chance in the bottom of the fifth as Tice and Jennifer Moose (Statesville, N.C.) singled to put two runners on with two outs. A ground out ended that inning, though, and kept Lincoln Memorial scoreless.
 
Powers plated another run for Bellarmine in the top of the seventh with an RBI single into center field.
 
Jaclyn Cokeroft (Longwood, Fla.) and Moose singled in the bottom of the seventh, but it never amounted to a run as a pop out ended the contest.
 
Freshman right-hander Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.) was saddled with the hard-luck loss despite a relatively strong outing. Taylor went all seven innings and allowed only three earned runs and eight hits over that span. She struck out six batters and walked just one.
 
Moose and Tice accounted for four of the Lady Railsplitters' six hits.
 
Game Two: Lincoln Memorial 8, Columbus State 5
 
The host Columbus State Cougars steadily built their lead over the course of the game.
 
CSU put together a two-out rally in the top of the second as Kailey Boone and Calli Star singled in front of Keeli Waugh, who drove in Boone with a double into the left-center gap to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
 
Johnson erased that run just minutes later with the first of her two home runs in the contest, slugging a leadoff dinger in the bottom of the second to tie it at 1-1.
 
The Lady Railsplitters and Cougars traded runs again in the third stanza as Kristen Carr hit a two-out, solo home run in the top of the third for CSU, while Kristen McAndrew (Belmont, N.C.) reached on an error and later scored on another error in the home half of that inning.
 
Following an inconsequential fourth frame, Columbus State distanced themselves from the Lady Railsplitters with three combined runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Waugh singled to lead off the fifth and scored on a base knock by McKenzie Fag. In the sixth, Lindsey Defe followed up a Carr single and a Taylor Woods double with a two-run double to put the Cougars in front 5-2.
 
Staring up at a three-run deficit with six outs left, the Lady Railsplitters exploded in the bottom of the sixth. After a fly out, Johnson set the tone with her second home run of the contest, driving her fourth long ball of the season over the right field wall. Following that blast, the wheels came off for Columbus State pitcher Carr, who walked the next four batters of the inning. McAndrew's walk made it a one-run game, while Moose tied it up with a run-scoring single in the next at-bat.
 
After a pitching change, Emilee Solomon (Knoxville, Tenn.) drove in another run with a base hit, and Kelly Dreier (Knoxville, Tenn.) plated two more runs with a two-out single.
 
When all was said and done, the Lady Railsplitters tallied six runs on four hits and four walks in the inning and assumed an 8-5 lead.
 
Columbus State got a leadoff single from Fag in the top of the seventh, but the next three batters went down in order to end the contest.
 
The Lady Railsplitters finished with seven hits, and Johnson accounted for three of those hits. The Kenly, N.C. native went 3-for-3 at the plate with two home runs and a pair of RBI. Dreier drove in two runs on a 1-for-4 showing at the plate.
 
Samantha Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) earned a no-decision after allowing 11 hits and five earned runs in her five-inning start. Taylor picked up the victory and improved to 4-3 with two innings of scoreless relief. She allowed just one hit over that span and struck out one.
 
The Lady Railsplitters pay a visit to the UVA-Wise Cavaliers on Thursday, March 5 for a nonconference doubleheader. First pitch is set for 2 p.m