HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (19-24, 7-9 SAC) and Carson-Newman Eagles (26-15, 12-4 SAC) swapped shutouts to split a South Atlantic Conference softball doubleheader at Dorothy Neely Field on Wednesday.
 
Carson-Newman starter Allison Webster tossed a three-hit shutout to lead the Eagles to a 3-0 win in game one, but Lincoln Memorial's Samantha Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) was even better in game two, helping the Lady Railsplitters salvage the split by spinning a one-hit shutout in an 8-0 triumph in five innings.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are back in action on Saturday, April 16, heading to Hickory, North Carolina for a SAC twinbill against the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears with first pitch set for 2 p.m.
 
Game One: Carson-Newman 3, Lincoln Memorial 0
 
Webster befuddled the Lady Railsplitters over her complete-game shutout, holding Lincoln Memorial hitless through the first three innings while allowing just three hits in the game and finishing with eight strikeouts to improve to 17-8 on the season.
 
Lincoln Memorial starter Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.) was nearly as good as Webster, allowing just four hits while striking out eight over seven innings of work. But Taylor's solid start was undone by two costly errors, which helped the Eagles account for two of their three runs.
 
Jennifer Moose (Statesville, N.C.), Lindsay Cecil (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Allie Jones (Ooltewah, Tenn.) recorded singles for the Lady Railsplitters, accounting for LMU's only hits in the contest.
 
After the first two innings passed in a flash, Carson-Newman checked into the scoring column in the top of the third, when Webster drew a lead-off walk and scored on a single from Donna Ryan.
 
The Lady Railsplitters would threaten in the bottom of the fourth, as BriAnna Schrimpf (Chandler, Ariz.) walked and Jones broke up Webster's no-hit bid with a single down the left-field line to put two runners on with only one out. However, a fielder's choice and an infield popup left the runners stranded and kept the Lady Railsplitters off the board.
 
Carson-Newman's Elayna Siebert led off the sixth with a single, while Lindsay Dean reached on a fielding error in the next at-bat, which proved costly to the Lady Railsplitters' cause. After a fly out and a line out put two outs on the board, Webster ripped a double into the gap in left center to extend the Eagles' lead to 3-0 by virtue of a pair of unearned runs.
 
The Lady Railsplitters gave themselves a chance to erase all of that damage and tie the game in the bottom of the sixth, though, as Moose and Cecil singled to put two runners on without an out. After a strikeout and a line out, Meredith Johnson (Kenly, N.C.) drew a walk to load the bases. However, Webster struck out Parker Brantley (Zebulon, N.C.) to dash the Lady Railsplitters' hopes.
 
She then completed her shutout with a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh.
 
In addition to her work in the circle, Webster carried the Carson-Newman offense by going 1 for 2 with a walk and two RBI.
 
Game Two: Lincoln Memorial 8, Carson-Newman 0 (5 innings)
 
After getting held in check in game one, the Lady Railsplitters bounced back in a big way in game two, uncorking 13 hits and racing out to a 6-0 lead through the first two innings before tidying up an 8-0 win in five innings.
 
All nine LMU batters finished with at least one hit in the contest, an effort led by Moose, Ashlea Hunter (Woodruff, S.C.) and Kristen McAndrew (Belmont, N.C.). Moose went 2 for 3 with two RBI and two runs scored, Hunter with 2 for 3 with a run scored, and McAndrew went a perfect 3 for 3 at the plate with three runs to her credit. Jones went 1 for 2 with three RBI.
 
While the offense did its part, Smith dazzled in the circle for the Lady Railsplitters, allowing just one hit with five strikeouts and one walk in the complete-game shutout to improve to 7-8 on the season.
 
Kristen Toppel provided the only hit of the game for the Eagles with a lead-off double in the top of the first.
 
Danielle Kranz was saddled with the loss for Carson-Newman, allowing four hits and three earned runs in just 1 1/3 innings of work. Webster threw 2 2/3 innings of relief, but was much less effective than in game one, allowing six hits and an earned run with just one strikeout.
 
The Lady Railsplitters jumped on the Eagles right from the start, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly out by Schrimpf and an RBI single by Johnson.
 
Lincoln Memorial put the game out of reach in the bottom of the second, bringing four runs in to extend the lead to 6-0. McAndrew and Hunter singled, while Cecil drew a walk to load the bases with just one out. After a pitching change, Moose drew a bases-loaded free pass to bring a run home. Jones then cleared the bases with a double down the right-field line.
 
While Smith continued to cruise, setting down 15 of the last 16 batters she faced, the Lady Railsplitters brought the run-rule into effect in the bottom of the fifth, as McAndrew singled and scored the winning run on a single through the left side by Moose.
 
The Lady Railsplitters blanked Carson-Newman for just the third time since the 1998 season and first since capturing a 4-0 win in 2014.
 
The win also moved LMU head coach Natalie Layden one away from her 100th career victory, as she improved to 99-87 in her five-season tenure with the Lady Railsplitters.