HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Railsplitters' bats continued to sizzle on Saturday afternoon as Lincoln Memorial (9-2, 2-0 SAC) pushed its winning streak to eight games and got off to a 2-0 start in South Atlantic Conference play by sweeping a doubleheader from the Anderson Trojans (4-9, 0-2 SAC) at Lamar Hennon Field.
 
The Railsplitters jumped out to huge leads in both games, but ended up having to hold on for dear life down the stretch, taking game one by a final of 16-12 before capturing a 14-9 victory in game two. With those two wins, Lincoln Memorial exorcised some demons against the Trojans, who had won four of the last five meetings entering Saturday's twinbill.
 
LMU will look to finish off the three-game sweep on Sunday afternoon when the Railsplitters and Trojans square off in game three at 1 p.m.
 
Game One: Lincoln Memorial 16, Anderson 12
 
The Railsplitters scored in each of their first six plate appearances, piled up 17 hits and hit their fifth grand slam in the past four games to overcome a late letdown and three errors.
 
Jean Rodriguez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) went 3-for-5 at the plate with five RBI, a grand slam and three runs scored to lead the LMU attack. Wes Neiderland (Thompson Station, Tenn.) - the reigning AstroTurf SAC Player of the Week - also went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) hit a home run as part of a 2-for-3 performance that included three RBI, a walk and two runs scored. At the top of the batting order, Seth Hunt (Knoxville, Tenn.) had two hits and three RBI, while HD Dillard (Woodstock, Ga.) collected two hits and a pair of RBI.
 
Junior right-hander Brandon Jean (Franklin, Tenn.) got touched up early and allowed the Trojans to score six runs (four earned) through the first three innings, but he settled down and improved to 2-1 on the season with six strikeouts and four hits allowed over seven innings of work.
 
The Railsplitters were forced to use four relief pitchers over the final two innings, with Timmy Wages (Moline, Ill.) and Dominic Morabito (Vienna, Va.) combining to keep the Trojans off the board over the final 1 1/3 innings.
 
After the two teams traded runs in the first inning, the Trojans jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the top of the second inning when Tyler Miller laced a two-out, bases-clearing double. The Railsplitters got two runs back in the home half of the second off of RBI from Rodriguez and Hunt, but a two-run home run by Carson Barrett increased the Trojans' lead to 6-3 in the top of the third. That inning was allowed to continue after Lincoln Memorial committed a two-out error in the infield.
 
The Railsplitters took the lead for good and kicked off a scoring barrage in the bottom of the third inning, though, as Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) singled, Neiderland doubled and Russell Clark (Wexford, Pa.) walked in front of Rodriguez, who brought four runs in with a grand slam.
 
Jean then put down 12 straight batters, while the Railsplitters poured it on with two runs in the fourth, five runs in the fifth and two more runs in the sixth. Augustine hit a two-run blast to pace the scoring in the fourth, while a two-run single from Hunt kicked off the five-run outburst in the fifth. A sacrifice fly out from Dillard concluded the Railsplitters' scoring in the sixth and put the home team ahead 16-6.
 
After being held completely in check from the fourth through the seventh innings, Anderson batted around in the top of the eighth inning to make things interesting. A one-out error allowed the Trojans to tally their first run of the inning, while a two-run double from Steven Cooper trimmed the deficit to 16-12 and brought the potential tying run into the on-deck circle. But Wages forced LJ Newman to groundout and stop the bleeding.
 
The Trojans put two more runners on base with one out in the top of the ninth, but Morabito finished off the win by forcing Xavier Peralta to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.
 
Ryan Owens was stuck with the loss after serving up seven hits and seven runs with five strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings of work. Barrett led the seven-hit Anderson attack by going 4-for-5 at the plate with three RBI and three runs scored.
 
Game Two: Lincoln Memorial 14, Anderson 9
 
The Railsplitters started quick once again, scoring all 14 of their runs in the first four innings to assume a commanding 14-4 lead. But the Trojans batted around in the top of the seventh to turn a runaway victory into a nail biter.
 
Freshman left-hander Ethan Elliott (Knoxville, Tenn.) improved to 3-0 with another solid effort on the mound, holding the Trojans to seven hits and six earned run over 6 2/3 innings. Almost all of the damage done against Elliott came in the seventh inning, though, as he allowed just two earned runs prior to that.
 
Mason Ewers (Kingsport, Tenn.) went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI, a home run and three runs scored, while Clark added a pair of hits with three runs. Danny Valdez (Orlando, Fla.) drove in three runs with a double and added a stolen base.
 
Dillard staked the Railsplitters to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI double, while Ewers, Rodriguez, Valdez and Hunt each drove in runs to help Lincoln Memorial increase its lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the second.
 
A pair of errors allowed the Trojans to score two runs in the top of the third and cut the deficit to 5-2, but the Railsplitters went around the horn in the bottom of that inning to score seven runs and make it a 12-2 lead. Valdez accounted for the big swing in that inning with a two-out, two-run double, while the Trojans committed two errors to help Lincoln Memorial's cause.
 
The Railsplitters and Trojans then traded two-run home runs in the fourth frame, as Zach McIlroy went deep for Anderson and Ewers connected on his second home run of the season in the home half.
 
The next two innings passed without consequence, but Anderson brought 11 batters to the plate in the top of the seventh to put a scare into the Railsplitters.
 
A two-run double from Kyle Bailey opened the scoring in what would eventually be a five-run outburst for the Trojans. Later in the inning, a single by Michael Rochester scored another run to make it 14-9 and brought McIlroy to the plate with the bases loaded. However, Morabito struck out McIlroy to end the game.
 
The Railsplitters chased Trojan starter Nick Contafio from the game after only 2 2/3 innings, as he fell to 0-1 after allowing eight hits and 10 runs (six earned). Steven Cooper led Anderson with a pair of hits and an RBI.