NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (1-6) look to right the ship on Wednesday afternoon when they head to Music City for an NCAA Division II doubleheader against the Trevecca Nazarene Trojans (5-1). Here's everything you need to know:
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Schedule/Game Day Links: Â
Wednesday, February 17 - Doubleheader at 3 p.m.
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Quick Hits: -The Lady Railsplitters had another tough weekend this past week at the CSU Cougar Classic in Columbus, Ga. Lincoln Memorial checked into the win column with a 4-0 win over Tuskegee in the CSU Classic opener, but followed that up with losses to Young Harris (6-2), Columbus State (9-4) and No. 9 nationally-ranked Georgia College (9-3). The Lady Railsplitters were in position to at least split the weekend set, as they led host Columbus State 2-0 through four innings. However, the Cougars exploded for five runs in the fifth and four runs in the seventh to fuel the come-from-behind victory.
-After accounting for only two extra-base hits over three games in the season-opening Pirate Classic, the Lady Railsplitters racked up 13 over their four-game stay at the CSU Classic, including four home runs. The long ball led Lincoln Memorial past Tuskegee, as both
Jennifer Moose (Statesville, N.C.) and
Kristen McAndrew (Belmont, N.C.) belted home runs against the Golden Lions.
BriAnna Schrimpf's (Chandler, Ariz.) first-inning, two-run home run put the Lady Railsplitters ahead of Columbus State in Sunday's early game. Moose would add another home run in the loss to Young Harris. LMU is now slugging .378 as a team.
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Savannah Couch (Colonial Heights, Va.) is leading the Lady Railsplitters in hits (8), RBIs (4) and batting average (.444) after a breakout 3-for-4 performance against Georgia College that included a double and an RBI. After Couch, five different players are tied for second on the team with five hits apiece.
-Pitching is going to have to improve in order for the Lady Railsplitters to get back on track. Through seven games, Lincoln Memorial is ranked last in the South Atlantic Conference in earned run average (5.32) and batting average against (.348). The Lady Railsplitters have relinquished at least 10 hits in five of the first seven games.
Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.) has been the most effective pitcher for the Lady Railsplitters this season, as she is carrying a 2.69 ERA with seven strikeouts over 13 innings of work.
-Lincoln Memorial is doing a pretty solid job of putting runners on base, but the offense has not been able to cash in those opportunities thus far. The Lady Railsplitters are batting .229 in RBI chances (16-for-70) and hitting .232 with runners on base (22-for-95). They have left at least seven runners stranded in four games this season.Â
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Notes on the Trojans:-Trevecca lost its season opener to Bellarmine, but has since won five consecutive games, most recently rolling through Montevallo (10-2), Stillman (7-3), Auburn-Montgomery (8-1) and McKendree (5-4) this past weekend at the Montevallo Falcon Frenzy. The Trojans are coming off of a 40-10 record in 2015.
-Junior right-handed pitcher Haley Fagan was tabbed as both the Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) Pitcher of the Week after compiling two wins and a save in three appearances at the Falcon Frenzy. Fagan enters Wednesday's doubleheader carrying a 4.34 earned run average with 23 hits and nine runs allowed over 18.2 innings. She has 12 strikeouts and 10 walks over that span.
-The Trojans offense is led by Shelby Andrews and Ansley Brantley. Andrews is hitting .455 with two doubles, a triple, three home runs and eight RBIs, while Brantley - the reigning GMAC Player of the Week - is batting .471 with three doubles, two homers and three RBIs. As a team, Trevecca is hitting .373 and slugging .699 with 12 home runs already on the stat ledger.
-Trevecca has been at least little shaky in the field this season, as the Trojans have committed 12 errors through six games. Infielder Ansley Brantley has four errors and an .818 fielding percentage, while Tana Whited and Bailey Alexander have each committed two errors apiece.Â
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Series History: -The Lady Railsplitters played the Trojans for the first time in program history last season, splitting a doubleheader at Dorothy Neely Field in the 2015 opener. Lincoln Memorial was run-ruled 8-0 in the first game of that twinbill before bouncing back with a 2-1 win in game two. The Lady Railsplitters were limited to three hits in the first game, but broke out with eight hits in the second game.
Ashlea Hunter (Woodruff, S.C.) went 2-for-3 in that contest.
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