HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (11-13, 3-3 SAC) dropped an 8-5 decision in eight innings in game one, but bounced back and rallied from a four-run deficit to capture a 6-4 victory in game two to split a South Atlantic Conference softball doubleheader with the Anderson Trojans (23-7, 6-2 SAC) on Tuesday at Dorothy Neely Field.
 
Game One: Anderson 8, Lincoln Memorial 5 (8 innings)
 
LMU starter Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and Anderson starter Chelsea Jones went pitch-for-pitch through the first four and a half innings, as the two teams were limited to only five combined hits without a single run over that span.
 
The game took a dramatic turn in the bottom of the fifth, though, as the Lady Railsplitters broke into the scoring column. Ashlea Hunter (Woodruff, S.C.) kicked off the inning with a double into the gap in right center, and she advanced to third with a one-out sacrifice bunt from Kristen McAndrew (Belmont, N.C.). Jennifer Moose (Statesville, N.C.) came up clutch by dropping a run-scoring double into right center.
 
Taylor wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the sixth, and Amanda Snow (Knoxville, Tenn.) added an insurance run in the home half of that inning, belting a solo home run over the center field fence.
 
It took the Trojans just three batters to tie the game up and ward off defeat in the top of the seventh, as Carli Hurtado walked and Jessica Neidigh snuck a two-run, game-tying home run over the fence in left center field.
 
The Lady Railsplitters got a leadoff single from Hunter in the bottom of the seventh, but she was gunned down while attempting to steal second, keeping the home team off the board and sending the contest into extra innings.
 
Anderson absolutely unloaded in the top of the eighth, as Bri Cason singled and Courtney Czentnar was intentionally walked to load the bases with no outs. Rebecca Martin plated two with a double down the left field line, and Hurtado added two more with another double into the gap in right center. Neidigh then put the game all but out of reach with a two-run home run.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were able to trim the final margin back a bit on a mammoth three-run home run from Snow, her second of the game and fifth of the season. The next two batters grounded out and struck out to end the contest.
 
In her first six innings, Taylor allowed just four hits without a run, but she suffered the loss after relinquishing six hits and seven earned runs over the final two frames. Taylor fell to 6-7 on the season, striking out two batters and serving up four walks.
 
Snow led the Lady Railsplitters by going 2-for-4 with four RBI and two home runs, while Hunter contributed two hits in three plate appearances.
 
Game Two: Lincoln Memorial 6, Anderson 4
 
The Trojans pounced on the Lady Railsplitters early, using three straight singles from Molly Child, Cailah Niles and Jones to notch the first run of the game in the top of the first. A double from Czentnar added another run to Anderson's ledger in that frame.  
 
The Lady Railsplitters would not get their first hit until Megan Tice (Orlando, Fla.) led off the third with a single, but that would not result in a run. The Trojans, meanwhile, scraped together two more runs in the top of the fourth on a two-out, two-run single from Child.
 
With the game squarely in Anderson's favor, the momentum shifted violently in the bottom of the fourth. Snow and Meredith Johnson (Kenly, N.C.) got that inning rolling by with back-to-back singles to put two runners on for Teddi Collins (Germantown, Ohio), who came through with a three-run, opposite field home run to cut the deficit to 4-3.
 
The Lady Railsplitters continued to roll in the bottom of the fifth, taking over the lead with a two-out, three-run rally. McAndrew led off with a bunt single, but a lineout and a groundout put two outs on the board. Emilee Solomon (Knoxville, Tenn.) kept the inning alive and tied the game by ripping a single back up the middle, while Snow plated Solomon with a double into the left center gap to give the Lady Railsplitters the lead. Johnson added an insurance run by sneaking a bloop single over the head of Anderson shortstop Hurtado.
 
The Trojans went down in order in the sixth, but made it interesting in the top of the seventh, as Child was hit by a pitch and Niles reached on an error to put runners on first and second with no outs. Snow fanned Jones and induced a lineout from Cason, but Czentnar singled to load the bases. Snow ended the game and concluded her first win by forcing Martin into a fly out.
 
Snow tossed three nearly perfect innings in relief, improving to 1-0 on the season after allowing only one hit without an earned run with two strikeouts. Samantha Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) made the start for the Lady Railsplitters, getting tagged for seven hits and two earned runs in four innings of work.
 
Snow and Johnson led the Lady Railsplitters with a pair of hits and an RBI apiece. Collins finished with a career-high three RBI.
 
The Lady Railsplitters split their third consecutive South Atlantic Conference series to hold firm in a three-way tie for sixth place in the league standings.
 
Lincoln Memorial pays a visit to the Newberry Wolves on Saturday for a SAC doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.