MARS HILL, N.C. -- Freshman left-hander Ethan Elliott (Knoxville, Tenn.) became the first Lincoln Memorial pitcher to record at least 12 strikeouts in a game since 2013 to help the Railsplitters (22-10, 9-5 SAC) split a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader at Mars Hill (23-14, 8-9 SAC) on Saturday afternoon in Mars Hill, N.C. The Lions ran away with an 11-3 victory in game one of Saturday's twinbill, while Lincoln Memorial rallied behind Elliott's gem to salvage the doubleheader with a 4-0 triumph in game two.
 
The Railsplitters and Lions wrap up their three-game SAC set with the rubber game of the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Game One: Mars Hill 11, Lincoln Memorial 3
 
The Railsplitters' offense was mostly a non-factor until putting up a fight with two runs in the top of the ninth, while Mars Hill took advantage of five LMU errors and piled up 11 runs by the end of the fifth inning to cruise to victory.
 
Junior Brandon Jean (Franklin, Tenn.) was chased from the game after only 3 2/3 innings of work, as the righty was tagged for eight hits and five earned runs before giving way to Jake Watkins (Powder Springs, Ga.), who was steady in 3 1/3 innings of relief, allowing only one hit and one earned run.
 
Lincoln Memorial recorded five hits in the contest, but three of those came in the final inning with the game already out of hand. Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) went 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored, while Mason Ewers (Kingsport, Tenn.) also went 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run. Jean Rodriguez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) added the final hit on the Railsplitters' resume with an RBI single.
 
Mars Hill scattered nine hits in the game with six going for extra bases. Evan Rogers went 3 for 4 with a double, a home run, three RBI and three runs scored, while Rayshelon Carolina went 2 for 4 with three runs scored and a walk. Brett Brubaker and Phillip Carroll added two RBI apiece.
 
Zac Brown nearly went the distance for the Lions, holding the Railsplitters to just three hits and one earned run over 8 1/3 innings of work, drawing his season record back even at 2-2 with the win. He finished with six strikeouts and three walks.
 
The first inning was an ugly affair for both teams, as Mars Hill committed three errors in the top of the first while the Railsplitters reciprocated with three errors of their own in the bottom of that inning.
 
Danny Valdez (Orlando, Fla.) and HD Dillard (Woodstock, Ga.) led off the top of the first by reaching on consecutive errors, but Lincoln Memorial was only able to muster one run on a single from Kalman.
 
Mars Hill, meanwhile, scored two runs on errors in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead that would only grow as the game progressed.
 
The Lions extended their lead with a two-out rally in the bottom of the second, as Carolina kept the inning alive with a double down the left-field line. Rogers followed that up with a two-run home run to left field, which made it a 4-1 game.
 
Mars Hill blew the game wide open in the fourth frame by batting around and scoring six runs, an effort that was aided by two more LMU errors. The inning began with an error in the infield, which eventually led to a run on a single from Carolina. Three batters later, Brubaker doubled home a pair of runs, while another double from Dylan Powers accounted for another run. Carroll capped the six-run outburst with a two-run home run, which officially ended Jean's day.
 
The Lions tallied their final run of the game in the bottom of the fifth, when Rogers singled home Carolina, who reached on a walk in the previous at-bat.
 
After being limited to just two hits through the first eight innings, the Railsplitters found some offense in the top of the ninth while staring up at an 11-1 deficit. Kalman doubled to kick-start that frame and scored on a double from Ewers, who would come around to score on a single by Rodriguez. That's as far as the inning would get, though, as Joe Stucky (Knoxville, Tenn.) struck out to end the game.
 
Game Two: Lincoln Memorial 4, Mars Hill 0
 
The Railsplitters provided four runs early in the contest, which was plenty of support for Elliott, who improved to 7-1 on the season with the best performance of his young career.
 
Elliott was masterful in his complete-game shutout, allowing just six hits and striking out a career-high 12 batters to become the third pitcher in the South Atlantic Conference to earn his seventh win of the season. Elliott's 12 strikeouts were the most by an LMU pitcher since Brandon Cowan struck out 13 in a nine-inning game against Lenoir-Rhyne on April 12, 2013.
 
Dillard went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored, while Kalman added two more hits with a run. Wes Neiderland (Thompson Station, Tenn.) drove in two runs with a double, while Ewers and Valdez also contributed hits.
 
Hunter Boydston was stuck with the hard-luck loss despite giving up just two earned runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings of work for the Lions, falling to 4-4 on the season in defeat.
 
Rogers was the only Mars Hill hitter with multiple hits in the contest, going 2 for 3 with a stolen base.
 
After Boydston and Elliott traded zeroes in the first frame, the Railsplitters provided all the run support Elliott would need in the second and third innings.
 
Singles from Kalman and Ewers set the stage for Lincoln Memorial in the top of the second, putting runners on first and second with one out. After a fly out, an error on a ball put in play by Seth Hunt (Knoxville, Tenn.) allowed both runners to score and made it 2-0 in favor of the Railsplitters.
 
A double from Dillard and a single from Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) put the Railsplitters back in business in the top of the third. Neiderland took advantage of that situation by driving in two runs with a two-out double down the right-field line, which increased LMU's lead to 4-0.
 
Elliott faced some adversity only a couple of times. In the bottom of the third, Carolina and Rogers singled in back-to-back at-bats to put runners on first and second with two outs. But Elliott picked off Rogers at first to end that threat. Dalton Eisenbath led off the bottom of the fifth with a single, but Elliott struck out the side to keep him stranded at first and the Lions out of the scoring column. Elliott dusted off his complete game by setting the Lions down in 1-2-3 order in the seventh.
 
With the win, Elliott is now tied for fourth in LMU's single-season record book with seven wins. Only three pitchers have won at least eight games in a season in program history.