ANDERSON, S.C. -- The Lady Railsplitters (13-18, 1-3 SAC) suffered a pair of one-run losses to the Anderson Trojans (23-7, 3-1 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference softball action on Wednesday afternoon in Anderson, S.C. Lincoln Memorial hit two home runs in game one but came up short in a 4-3 loss before hitting two more dingers in a 3-2 loss in game two at the AU Softball Complex.
 
The Lady Railsplitters begin a six-game homestand on Saturday afternoon when they welcome the Coker Cobras to Dorothy Neely Field for a SAC twinbill beginning at 2 p.m.
 
Game One: Anderson 4, Lincoln Memorial 3
 
The Lady Railsplitters were held hitless through the first three innings, but scored in three of their last four plate appearances to nearly rally for the victory. However, Anderson did just enough to keep Lincoln Memorial at bay.
 
The Lady Railsplitters produced just five hits in the game, but four went for extra bases. Becca Burchette (Gas City, Ind.) and Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.) both hit home runs for Lincoln Memorial, while Jennifer Moose (Statesville, N.C.) and Meredith Johnson (Kenly, N.C.) had a double apiece.
 
Taylor was stuck with the loss for Lincoln Memorial after relinquishing nine hits and four earned runs with three walks in six innings of work.
 
Cailah Niles led Anderson by going 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a double. Kasey Grant went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a double, while Rachel Barefield went 1-for-3 with a home run. The Trojans finished with nine hits in the contest.
 
Augie Pena picked up the win for Anderson, allowing five hits and three earned runs with six strikeouts over six innings of work. Lauren Rudesheim earned the save for the Trojans after tossing a scoreless inning of relief with a walk and a strikeout.
 
Anderson took the lead right from the jump, scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single by Madison Bivins, which scored Molly Child, who got the inning started with a one-out walk.
 
The Trojans added to their lead in the bottom of the third inning, when Child singled and scored on a double to left field from Niles.
 
Trailing 2-0 in the top of the fourth, the Lady Railsplitters finally broke into the hit column with a two-out double by Moose and quickly added a notch to the run column with a two-bagger by Johnson in the following at-bat.
 
That cut Anderson's lead to 2-1, but Barefield erased that run with a solo home run in the home half of the fourth inning.
 
The Lady Railsplitters answered right back and closed the gap to one run again in the top of the fifth, as Taylor led off that inning with a solo shot to left field. But the Trojans increased their lead back to 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth on a run-scoring single from Michaela Smith.
 
Burchette led off the top of the seventh with a home run, but that would be the extent of the Lady Railsplitters' offense in that inning, as Rudesheim forced a groundout, a strikeout and another groundout around a walk to complete the 4-3 Anderson win.
 
Game Two: Anderson 3, Lincoln Memorial 2
 
The Lady Railsplitters were once again limited to just five hits, but kept pace with the Trojans thanks to two more long balls.
 
Moose went 1-for-3 with a home run, while Allie Jones (Ooltewah, Tenn.) went 1-for-2 with a home run and a walk. Burchette had a double, while Johnson and Ashlea Hunter (Woodruff, S.C.) also added hits for the Lady Railsplitters.
 
Despite a solid start, Samantha Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) suffered the loss for the Lady Railsplitters, falling to 5-4 on the season after allowing six hits and one earned run in 4 1/3 innings of work. Alicia Raymond (Cleveland, Tenn.) threw 1 2/3 innings in relief of Smith, allowing just two hits over that span without a run.
 
Randee Bettis picked up the win for the Trojans, moving to 5-1 on the year after striking out six and allowing only two earned runs in six innings of action. Rudesheim earned her second save of the day and third of the season by tossing another scoreless inning of relief, striking out one and allowing one hit.
 
Niles and Carli Hurtado led the way for Anderson with two hits apiece, while Pena had a double with two RBI. Grant added an RBI with one hit.
 
The first three innings passed in scoreless fashion, but Jones put the first run on the board and gave the Lady Railsplitters a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth with a lead-off home run.
 
Lincoln Memorial's lead was short-lived, though, as Anderson scored all three of its runs in the home half of the fourth. After Child doubled and Niles walked, an infield error allowed the Trojans to knot the game at 1-1. Pena then drove in two runs with a double into the gap in right center, putting the home team ahead 3-1.
 
The Lady Railsplitters pulled within one in the top of the seventh after Moose connected on a lead-off home run, but they would leave a runner stranded at second base to suffer the 3-2 setback.