Box Score HARROGATE, Tenn. – Senior catcher
Russell Clark (Wexford, Pa.) brought the Railsplitters' offense to life with a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning to help Lincoln Memorial (7-2) complete the sweep of the Tiffin Dragons (1-5) with a 13-3 win on Saturday afternoon at Lamar Hennon Field. With the win, the Railsplitters pushed their winning streak to six games and scored double-digit runs for the fourth time in their last five appearances.
After combining for 24 runs in Friday's doubleheader sweep of the Dragons, the Railsplitters started slow in Saturday's series finale. Lincoln Memorial stranded five runners on base and was held scoreless with just three hits through the first four innings.
Tiffin, meanwhile, raced out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to three RBI from designated hitter Alex Hartley, who recorded a run-scoring ground out in the first before hammering a two-run home run in the third.
The Railsplitters' offense was still stuck in neutral at the beginning of the fifth inning, but a couple of Tiffin miscues paired with Clark's timely hit broke the game wide open.
The Dragons actually recorded the final out of the fifth inning when Luke Fraley struck out
Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa), but the ball skirted away from the Tiffin catcher to allow the Railsplitters to put a runner on base and spark a rally. Tiffin then committed a throwing error in the next at-bat while
Wes Neiderland (Thompson Station, Tenn.) walked to load the bases for Clark, who pummeled a grand slam over to left center field to stake the Railsplitters to a 4-3 lead. The home run was the first of Clark's debut season with the Railsplitters.
Lincoln Memorial kept it going in the home half of the sixth as
Jean Rodriguez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) drove in a run with a single, Augustine drew a bases-loaded walk and
Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) plated a pair of runs with a single to push the Railsplitters ahead 8-3.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, H.D. Dillard (Woodstock, Ga.) put the game on ice by connecting on a two-out grand slam, the Railsplitters' second of the game and fourth of the series. Dillard's first career home run gave the Railsplitters a commanding 13-3 lead.
Senior right-hander
Wes Todd (Franklin, Tenn.) picked up the win after a nearly flawless relief stint, striking out four without a walk and three hits allowed over 5 2/3 innings of work. He replaced starter
Matt Mullenbach (Urbandale, Iowa), who gave up six hits and three earned runs over 3 1/3 innings.
Dillard, Augustine and Rodriguez each finished with two hits in the contest, while Dillard and Clark drove in four runs apiece on their grand slams.
Hartley, Kurt Barbeau and Garrett Vernau led the Dragons with two hits apiece, while Hartley drove in all three runs. Fraley suffered the loss after serving up Clark's fifth-inning grand slam, falling to 0-2 on the season.
The Railsplitters are back in action on Wednesday, February 24 when they welcome the Bellarmine Knights to Lamar Hennon Field for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
