AIKEN, S.C. -- Freshman left-hander Ethan Elliott (Knoxville, Tenn.) spun a five-hit, seven-inning gem to lead the Railsplitters (1-1) to an 8-1 win over the USC Aiken Pacers (1-1) in game two of a three-game NCAA Division II baseball series on Saturday afternoon at Roberto Hernandez Stadium in Aiken, S.C.
 
Elliott allowed just one earned run and struck out 10 Pacers over seven innings in his collegiate debut to help Lincoln Memorial avenge an 8-2 loss to USC Aiken in Friday's season opener. Redshirt sophomore Dominic Morabito (Vienna, Va.) was also stellar out of the bullpen in his first appearance since the 2014 season, holding the Pacers scoreless with only one hit over the final two innings.
 
The Railsplitters' offense mustered a mere five hits in the game, but USC Aiken helped Lincoln Memorial's cause with walks and errors.
 
USC Aiken starter Connor Riley issued free passes to Mason Ewers (Kingsport, Tenn.), Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) and Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to load the bases and spark a rally with one out in the top of the first. A catcher's interference then allowed the Railsplitters to score the first run of the game. Another walk issued to HD Dillard (Woodstock, Ga.) pushed the second run of the inning across, while Danny Valdez (Orlando, Fla.) was plunked by a pitch to make it 3-0. Wes Neiderland (Thompson Station, Tenn.), who reached via the catcher's interference earlier in the inning, later capped the four-run top of the first by scoring on a wild pitch.
 
That was more than enough run support for Elliott, who faced just four over the minimum through five innings. The Pacers were unable to advance a runner as far as third base over that span.
 
The Railsplitters added to their lead in the top of the sixth, an inning that was kicked off by back-to-back singles by Russell Clark (Wexford, Pa.) and Dillard. Jean Rodriguez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) drove in a run with a single to left field, while a base knock by Seth Hunt (Knoxville, Tenn.) plated another run in the next at-bat. A throwing error on a ball put in play by Ewers then accounted for another run and extended Lincoln Memorial's lead to 7-0.
 
The only blemish on Elliott's stat ledger came in the bottom of the sixth, when Chaz Pal hit a solo home run with two outs in the inning to trim the Railsplitters' lead to 7-1.
 
Lincoln Memorial got that run back in the top of the ninth, though, as Ewers reached on an error for the second time in the game. Pinch runner Timmy Wages (Moline, Ill.) would go on to score on a sacrifice fly from Clark.
 
Morabito then breezed through the Pacers in the bottom of the ninth to complete the victory, recording the last two outs of the inning via the strikeout.
 
Hunt, Ewers, Clark, Dillard and Valdez each produced RBIs for the Railsplitters.
 
Riley was saddled with the loss for the Pacers despite not allowing a hit over four innings, as he walked six and served up four runs (one earned). USC Aiken used five different pitchers to get through the game.
 
Pal accounted for three of the Pacers' six hits with an RBI and a walk.
 
With the win, Lincoln Memorial moves to 15-33 all-time against USC Aiken and defeats the Pacers for just the second time in the last 15 tries.
 
The Railsplitters will look to take a three-game series from USC Aiken for the first time since 2010 on Sunday when the two teams meet for the third and final game at 1 p.m. back at Roberto Hernandez Stadium.