HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lee Flames (9-11) hit four home runs to power a 9-8 win over the Railsplitters (13-5) in a back-and-forth NCAA Division II baseball contest on Wednesday afternoon at Lamar Hennon Field. The loss snapped Lincoln Memorial's four-game winning streak, while Lee improved to 9-11 on the season with the win.
 
The Railsplitters failed to record at least 10 hits in a game for the first time since February 7, ending a streak of 14 straight games with double-digit hits, and left 10 runners stranded on the bases to fall to the Flames in the first meeting between the two programs since 2003.
 
HD Dillard (Woodstock, Ga.) led Lincoln Memorial's offensive attack by going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Jean Rodriguez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) reached in four of his five at-bats with a pair of singles, a walk and a hit by pitch. Joe Stucky (Knoxville, Tenn.) drove in three runs with a home run and Seth Hunt (Knoxville, Tenn.) plated a pair of runs with a triple.
 
The Railsplitters used six pitchers in the contest. Starter Wes Todd (Franklin, Tenn.) was chased after 2 1/3 innings, a span during which he relinquished four runs and nine hits. Chase Randolph (Harriman, Tenn.) was saddled with the loss, falling to 0-1 on the season after serving up a run and two hits in his one inning of relief work.
 
The Flames jumped on the Railsplitters early, bringing three runs across in the top of the first and adding another in the second. Ben Holland hit a solo home run in the second at-bat of the game to open the scoring, while Kyle Briner connected on a two-run home run two batters later to make it 3-0. Holland drove in another run in the second frame with a two-out RBI single back up the middle of the box.
 
A two-out rally helped Lincoln Memorial erase almost every bit of that deficit in the bottom of the second inning, as Rodriguez and Danny Valdez (Orlando, Fla.) drew back-to-back two-out free passes to set the stage for Stucky, who connected on his first career home run to close the gap to 4-3.
 
The Railsplitters would tie the game in the bottom of the third, as Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) singled and scored on a fielder's choice from Wes Neiderland (Thompson Station, Tenn.). But another home run put the Flames back in front in the top of the fourth, as Holland singled in front of Luke Toms, who hit a two-run blast to make it 6-4 in favor of the visitors.
 
Lincoln Memorial responded again in the home half of that inning, as Rodriguez was hit by a pitch and Valdez drew a walk to put two runners on without an out. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position, Hunt slashed a triple to draw the game even at 6-6. Hunt would score in the next at-bat on a Dillard single to push the Railsplitters back ahead.
 
Nathan Wierzgac then catapulted the Flames back in front by driving in a run in the top of the fifth and seventh innings. He hit a solo blast in the fifth stanza to tie the game and later drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI in the visitor's half of the seventh.
 
But like they had all game, the Railsplitters waited little time to initiate a response, as Valdez connected on a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game once again at 8-8.
 
The eighth inning passed without consequence, but Lee sparked a rally in the top of the ninth and took the lead for good. Wierzgac kick-started that frame with a lead-off single and scored two batters later on a double by Holland.
 
Neiderland and Valdez both drew walks around a Rodriguez single to load the bases for Lincoln Memorial with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. But relief pitcher Briner forced Russell Clark (Wexford, Pa.) to fly out to end the game.
 
Toms, Holland and Wierzgac combined for 12 hits (four apiece) and seven RBI to carry the Flames' offense. Christian Bokich picked up the win for Lee after tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.
 
The Railsplitters return to South Atlantic Conference play this weekend by hosting a three-game set against the Wingate Bulldogs. Game one of that series is scheduled to get underway at 4 p.m. on Friday at Lamar Hennon Field.