SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Armstrong State (4-3) scored six unanswered runs to break a 3-3 stalemate and defeat the Lady Railsplitters (0-3) 9-3 in the final game of the Pirate Classic on Sunday afternoon in Savannah, Ga. With the loss, Lincoln Memorial slips to 0-3 for the first time since the 2013 campaign and falls to 1-9 all-time against the Peach Belt Conference foe.
 
The Pirates' high-powered offense scored in each of the first three innings and five of the seven innings overall to pace the victory.
 
Armstrong's Hannah Reppert kicked off the scoring in the top of the first inning with a two-out, solo home run. The Pirates would rally for another two-out run in the top of the second inning with some help from the Lady Railsplitters. Ashley Sterritt was issued a two-out walk to set up the scoring opportunity, while an infield error kept the inning alive and allowed the Pirates to push their lead to 2-0.
 
Lincoln Memorial checked into the scoring column in the home half of the second inning, which was opened with a lead-off single by Meredith Johnson (Kenly, N.C.) and a double from Kelsie Hocutt (Wendell, N.C.). A groundout by BriAnna Schrimpf (Chandler, Ariz.) brought Johnson home and moved Hocutt over to third base, but a strikeout and a groundout left her stranded there.
 
A sacrifice fly out from Autumn Parrish increased Armstrong's lead to 3-1 in the top of the third inning, but the Lady Railsplitters erased that deficit in the home half of the fourth inning. Singles by Johnson and Schrimpf wedged around a Hocutt walk loaded the bases with no outs. Savannah Couch (Colonial Heights, Va.) drove in a run with an infield single, while Kristen McAndrew (Belmont, N.C.) plated another with a single through the left side.
 
The Lady Railsplitters had a chance to take the lead that inning, but Jane Trzaska was called in to relieve Armstrong starting pitcher Morgan Duff, and she prevented Lincoln Memorial from doing any further damage with a groundout and a pop out. Schrimpf was also picked off at home when she attempted to score on a wild pitch.
 
Any bit of momentum from that inning was quickly washed away, though, as the Pirates scored three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings. An RBI single by Logan Harrell and a two-run double by Sterritt accounted for the fifth-inning runs, while another two-run home run from Reppert and an RBI single by Connor Weaver comprised the sixth-inning scoring.
 
The Lady Railsplitters loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth following a single by Hocutt and walks to Couch and McAndrew, but a groundout and strikeout ended the threat. Lincoln Memorial went down in 1-2-3 order in the bottom of the seventh to end the game.
 
Johnson and Hocutt led the Lady Railsplitters' eight-hit performance with two hits apiece. Hocutt accounted for the only extra-base hit of the game for Lincoln Memorial and also drew a walk.
 
Samantha Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) scattered 12 hits and allowed six earned runs over five innings in the start for the Lady Railsplitters, falling to 0-1 on the season with the loss. Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.) gave up two runs and three hits in two innings of relief.
 
Armstrong State produced 15 hits as a team, an effort fueled by Reppert's 4-for-4 day that included two home runs and three RBIs. Trzaska picked up the win for the Pirates after holding the Lady Railsplitters without a hit over two innings of relief.
 
The Lady Railsplitters will look to pick up their first win of the 2016 season on Wednesday, February 10 when they travel to Wise, Va. to face the UVA-Wise Cavaliers for a nonconference doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.