HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (30-15, 10-8 SAC) used three big innings in the opener and one timely hit in the nightcap to sweep a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader from the Lady Railsplitters (20-20, 9-9 SAC) on Thursday evening at Dorothy Neely Field.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne put up three-plus runs in three different frames to put an early end to game one and snap Lincoln Memorial's season-long eight-game winning streak with an 11-1 victory in five innings. The Lady Railsplitters rebounded and led for nearly every minute of game two until Sydney Landreth hammered a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the seventh to pace the Bears' 2-1 come-from-behind victory.
 
The Lady Railsplitters entered Thursday's twinbill sitting in fourth in the SAC standings, but slipped into a tie for seventh place following the two losses. There are only three games currently separating LMU from second-place Anderson, who holds a 12-6 mark in the league standings as of this writing.
 
Game One: Lenoir-Rhyne 11, Lincoln Memorial 1 (5 innings)
 
The Bears jumped on the Lady Railsplitters early as Christina Walker singled and Landreth walked to put two runners on with one out in the top of the first. Sarah Kenley ripped a double into the gap in left-center to put the first run on the board, while Jordin Phillips tacked on another with a single through the right side of the infield. Kenley later scored on a base knock by Brittany Coursen. Phillips was gunned down at the plate on that play to keep the inning from escalating any further.
 
The Lady Railsplitters trimmed the deficit to 3-1 in the home half of the first as Kelly Dreier (Knoxville, Tenn.) singled, advanced to second on Amanda Snow's (Knoxville, Tenn.) single and scored on a base hit into right field by Jennifer Moose (Statesville, N.C.).
 
That would be unquestionably the most offensive success the Lady Railsplitters would experience against reigning SAC Pitcher of the Year Maryann Hoskins, as the junior right-hander allowed just two hits the rest of the way, a leadoff double from Meredith Johnson (Kenly, N.C.) in the bottom of the fourth and a single by Kristen McAndrew (Belmont, N.C.) with the game already out of reach in the fifth.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne, meanwhile, erupted for five runs in the top of the third stanza. Kenley walked and Madison Carter singled to put the pieces in place for that inning, and Coursen drove in the first run with a double to right-center. After a pitching change, a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases and a walk to Madison Poe brought in another run. Landreth capped the five-run flurry with a two-run single.
 
The Bears added three more runs and invoked the run-rule in the top of the fifth with an RBI double by Landreth and a two-run, two-bagger by Phillips.
 
Samantha Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) allowed six hits and six runs with three walks in 2 1/3 innings pitched before handing the ball off to Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.), who gave up six hits and five earned runs in 2 2/3 frames. Smith was on the hook for the loss.
 
Landreth and Phillips drove in three runs apiece to pace the Bears' offense, while that duo along with Carter and Coursen compiled two hits apiece. Hoskins went all five innings, allowing five hits and one earned run with seven strikeouts in the win.
 
Game Two: Lenoir-Rhyne 2, Lincoln Memorial 1
 
Smith bounced back from a tough outing in game one and threw well enough, if not for one pitch, to earn a win in Thursday's finale. The Knoxville, Tenn. native pitched her way out of trouble in nearly every inning, stranding runners at second and third in the first inning and leaving runners at first and second in the second stanza.  
 
The Lady Railsplitters staked Smith to a lead in the bottom half of the second as Moose led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Megan Tice (Orlando, Fla.). Savannah Couch (Colonial Heights, Va.) punctuated the small-ball run and plated Moose with a sacrifice fly out to right field.
 
Smith spun a one-two-three inning in the third and worked around a two-out single by Coursen in the fourth to keep the Bears scoreless. Trouble brewed once again in the fifth as singles by Averi Miller and Poe, along with a walk to Kenley, loaded the bases with two outs. But Smith struck out Phillips to end that threat as well and increase Lenoir-Rhyne's left-on-base total to eight.
 
Lincoln Memorial looked to add what would have been a crucial insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as Snow and Moose singled to put two runners on with one out. A strikeout and a foul out ended the inning and brought forth the top of the seventh.
 
Miller led off that inning with a double that fell just out of the reach of centerfielder Ashlea Hunter (Woodruff, S.C.), bouncing out of her glove after the freshman collided into the wall while trying to make the highlight reel catch. Smith struck out pinch hitter Lauren Elder, while Smith fielded a ground ball cleanly in the next at-bat and smartly gunned Miller down at third. That would ultimately prove inconsequential, though, as, in a stunning turn of events, Landreth belted a two-out, 0-1 pitch over the wall in right-center field to make it a 2-1 Lenoir-Rhyne lead.
 
Hunter led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, but never advanced past first base.
 
Smith was saddled with the hard-luck loss, falling to 8-10 on the year with her second loss in the doubleheader. Smith allowed seven hits and two earned runs with three strikeouts in seven innings.
 
Moose and Hunter paced the Lady Railsplitters' eight-hit effort by going 2-for-3 at the dish.
 
Brandi Hole threw the first four frames for the Bears, giving up four hits and one run over that span. Hoskins came on in relief in the fifth inning and did not allow a run on four hits, picking up her second win of the day to improve to 17-5. Landreth and Miller were responsible for four of L-R's seven hits.
 
The Lady Railsplitters return to Dorothy Neely Field on Friday to host Mars Hill for a SAC doubleheader with major postseason implications, with first pitch in game one slated for 1 p.m.