HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- Freshman left-hander Ethan Elliott (Knoxville, Tenn.) moved into a tie for second for the most wins in Lincoln Memorial's single-season history as the Railsplitters (26-17, 11-10 SAC) split a South Atlantic Conference baseball doubleheader at Coker (26-17, 11-10 SAC) on Saturday.
 
Lincoln Memorial bounced back from Friday's 9-1 loss in Saturday's opener, scattering 10 hits to draw the series even with a 6-4 win. However, the Cobras blanked the Railsplitters 4-0 in the rubber game to clinch the series.
 
The Railsplitters begin the final week of the regular season on Wednesday, traveling to Wise, Virginia for a nonconference tilt against the Virginia-Wise Cavaliers beginning at 5 p.m. Lincoln Memorial then returns to Lamar Hennon Field to face the Brevard Tornados in a three-game SAC set.
 
Game One: Lincoln Memorial 6, Coker 4
 
While not nearly as dominant as he has been for most of the season, Elliott was solid on the mound for the Railsplitters, allowing six hits and four earned runs over 5 2/3 innings of work to push his season record to 9-1. With the win, Elliott, who struck out three and walked two, joins Joe Workman (2006), Brad Reeder (1999) and Scot Shields (1996) as the only other LMU pitchers to win at least nine games in a season, tying Workman and Reeder for the second-most in program history.
 
Elliott's ninth win was made possible by a sparkling relief effort from Dominic Morabito (Vienna, Va.), who picked up his fourth save of the season after allowing just one hit and striking out six in 3 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
 
Jean Rodriguez (Caguas, Puerto Rico), Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Wes Neiderland (Thompson Station, Tenn.) led the Railsplitters offensively with two hits apiece, while Neiderland drove in two runs. Kalman and Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) also had RBI for Lincoln Memorial.
 
After the first two innings passed in scoreless fashion, the Railsplitters broke the game open in the top of the third, scoring three runs off of four hits and a pair of Coker errors. Rodriguez singled and scored on a single by Kalman, while an error on top of a wild pitch allowed Mason Ewers (Kingsport, Tenn.) to score. Ewers had reached earlier in the inning via a walk. Neiderland then capped the three-run flurry with an RBI single, which plated Kalman.
 
Lincoln Memorial tacked on three more runs later in the game, scoring one in the fifth and two more in the sixth.
 
Augustine led off the top of the fifth with a hit-by-pitch, eventually coming around to score on a fielder's choice from Neiderland. Augustine then drove in the first run of the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly out. A throwing error allowed the Railsplitters to score again in the sixth and increase their lead to 6-0.
 
Coker produced all of its runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Colton Henthorne kick-started the inning with a one-out single, while Will Winslow walked and Jack Leech singled to open the scoring. Darius Coldiron then doubled home a run, while Thomas Lopez drove in another run with a sacrifice fly out to center field. Miguel Frias trimmed LMU's lead to 6-4 with an RBI single, officially ending Elliott's day and forcing Morabito in from the bullpen. Morabito ended the inning by striking out the first batter he faced, Bryson Conner.
 
The Cobras really threatened only one time with Morabito on the mound and that came in the bottom of the seventh, when Clint Allen was hit by a pitch and A.J. Strnad walked to put two runners on with no outs. Following a sac bunt, Morabito induced a groundout and a pop out to end the inning.
 
Morabito struck out five of the last seven batters he faced to complete the save.
 
Will Sutton (3-3) took the loss for the Cobras after serving up 10 hits and four earned runs with four strikeouts over five innings. No Coker hitter finished with multiple hits in the contest.
 
Game Two: Coker 4, Lincoln Memorial 0
 
The Railsplitters outhit the Cobras 6-4, but left eight runners stranded on base to be shut out for just the second time this season and first since an 11-0 loss against Wingate on March 12.
 
Lincoln Memorial rode the hot hand in game two, sending Morabito back to the mound to make the start in the series finale. However, Morabito was much less effective this time around, serving up two hits and three runs while recording just one out to fall to 2-4 on the season. Neither Cody Hinson (Taylor Ridge, Ill.) or Chase Randolph (Harriman, Tenn.) allowed an earned run over their 5 2/3 combined innings of relief, but the Railsplitters were unable to rally behind that solid, joint relief effort.
 
Joe Stucky (Powell, Tenn.) paced the Railsplitters' six-hit attack by going 2 for 3 with a pair of singles. Augustine, Kalman, Rodriguez and Seth Hunt (Knoxville, Tenn.) also added singles for Lincoln Memorial.
 
All of the scoring took place in the bottom of the first inning, as the Cobras used two LMU errors and three hits to take a 4-0 lead that they would not relinquish.
 
Strnad was hit by a pitch and Winslow singled to put two runners on with one out. Leech then put the first run on the board with a single through the left side of the infield. After a quick pitching change, back-to-back passed balls allowed Winslow to score. Lopez made it 3-0 with an RBI double down the left-field line. Hinson ended the inning by striking out Frias, but an errant throw on the putout attempt allowed another run to cross and extended the inning.
 
After the top of the first, when Lincoln Memorial put a pair of runners on base, the Railsplitters wouldn't threaten again until the top of the fifth, when Stucky, Hunt and Rodriguez singled to load the bases with one out. However, Ewers ground into a 6-4-3 double play to abruptly bring that inning to a close.
 
The Railsplitters wouldn't put more than one runner on base again until the seventh, when Stucky singled and Rodriguez walked. However, a strikeout officially brought the game to a close.
 
Anthony Scaccia and Forrest Arnold combined in the six-hit shutout. Scaccia (5-3) picked up the win after allowing just four hits with four strikeouts over five innings. Arnold preserved the victory with two innings of two-hit relief.
 
Winslow led the Cobras by going 1 for 1 with two walks and a run scored.