WINGATE, N.C. -- The Lady Railsplitters (13-16, 1-1 SAC) kicked off South Atlantic Conference play by splitting a doubleheader against the Wingate Bulldogs (16-6, 1-1 SAC) on Sunday afternoon in Wingate, N.C. Lincoln Memorial erased a 3-0 deficit and pushed its winning streak to nine with a 4-3 win in extra innings in game one, while Wingate answered back with an 8-0 victory in game two to earn the split.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are back in action on Wednesday, March 23, when they travel to Anderson, S.C. for a SAC doubleheader against the Anderson Trojans beginning at 2 p.m.
 
Game One: Lincoln Memorial 4, Wingate 3 (8 innings)
 
Wingate scored three runs in the bottom of the first off of sophomore right-hander Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.), but Taylor bounced back by completely locking down the Bulldogs the rest of the way, while the Lady Railsplitters rallied to win in extra innings.
 
Taylor - the reigning AstroTurf SAC Player of the Week - went all eight innings in the circle for Lincoln Memorial, limiting Wingate to a mere four hits and three earned runs with two strikeouts and three walks to improve to 8-6 on the season. After relinquishing three hits in the first, Taylor gave up just one hit over the final seven innings.
 
The Lady Railsplitters accumulated eight hits with three extra-base hits in the contest. Jennifer Moose (Statesville, N.C.) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a home run, while Meredith Johnson (Kenly, N.C.) posted a 2-for-4 showing that included an RBI single in the top of the eighth that sealed the victory.
 
Ashlea Hunter (Woodruff, S.C.) went 1-for-3, but provided the biggest hit of the game with a lead-off, game-tying home run in the top of the seventh.
 
Misty Doran accounted for two of Wingate's four hits, going 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI. Stacey Houser was pegged with the loss for the Bulldogs after allowing a run and a hit in two innings of relief work. Rachel Weidner made the start for Wingate, tossing six innings with seven hits and three earned runs allowed over that span.
 
The Lady Railsplitters loaded the bases in the top of the first frame, as Allie Jones (Ooltewah, Tenn.) was hit by a pitch, BriAnna Schrimpf (Chandler, Ariz.) walked and Moose singled back to the pitcher. Lincoln Memorial came up empty-handed in that inning, though, as Johnson flew out to shallow left field and Jones was gunned down at the plate while trying to tag and score.
 
The Bulldogs then followed suit by loading up the bases in the home half of the first following a double by Mellena Helms and a pair of walks. Wingate grabbed a 2-0 lead on a two-run single from Doran, while Naomi Sapp drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 3-0 in favor of Wingate after one.
 
Lincoln Memorial and Wingate both went quietly in the second and third innings, but the Lady Railsplitters made things interesting in the top of the fourth, as Schrimpf led off with a single and Moose slugged a two-run home run to left field to close the gap to 3-2. The Lady Railsplitters threatened to do further damage that inning, putting two runners on after the long ball. But two straight pop outs and a groundout ended the threat.
 
Taylor continued to cruise over the ensuing innings, but Weidner held serve until the top of the seventh inning, when Hunter led off with a solo, opposite-field home run to draw the game even at 3-3. It marked Hunter's first home run of the 2016 campaign and just the second of her career.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were back in business that same inning after Savannah Couch (Colonial Heights, Va.) was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a sac bunt. However, Couch was caught stealing at third to keep the game knotted at 3-3.
 
Wingate went down in 1-2-3 order in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings, where the Lady Railsplitters quickly took the lead in the top of the eighth on a clutch single by Johnson.
 
That was all the run support that Taylor needed, as she forced two groundouts and a pop out to complete the Lady Railsplitters' 4-3 victory.
 
Game Two: Wingate 8, Lincoln Memorial 0 (5 innings)
 
The Lady Railsplitters mustered just one hit over five innings against Wingate starter Stacey Houser, who improved to 9-4 on the season after tossing a shutout that included two strikeouts and four walks.
 
Johnson recorded the lone hit of the game for Lincoln Memorial with a lead-off single in the top of the second.
 
Wingate scattered 12 hits in the contest. Doran led the charge by going 3-for-3 with a double, a home run and two RBI, while Jordan Wilson also went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI and a double. Helms and Taylor Laskey contributed two hits and two RBI apiece.
 
Taylor was saddled with the loss for the Lady Railsplitters after allowing seven hits and vie earned runs in three innings of work, falling to 8-7 in the season in the process. She was relieved by Samantha Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.), who served up five hits and three runs in 1 2/3 innings.
 
Wingate jumped on the Lady Railsplitters right from the start, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first on a RBI single by Laskey and a two-run double by Wilson.
 
The Bulldogs increased their lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the third thanks to a two-run home run from Doran.
 
Despite not recording a hit in the inning, the Lady Railsplitters loaded the bases in the top of the fourth following an error and back-to-back walks. However, a foul out and a fly out kept Lincoln Memorial from scoring and helped Wingate maintain a 5-0 edge.  
 
The Bulldogs then pushed their lead to 6-0 in the bottom of the fourth on a run-scoring single from Laskey.
 
Wingate brought the run-rule into effect in the bottom of the fifth, as Helms doubled in a pair of runs to end the game.