HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Catawba ace Carley Tysinger locked down the Lady Railsplitters (16-21, 4-6 SAC) over 14 innings of work, throwing back-to-back complete-game gems to lead the Indians (26-9, 10-0 SAC) to a doubleheader sweep in South Atlantic Conference softball action on Saturday afternoon at Dorothy Neely Field. Lincoln Memorial suffered a 3-1 loss in a pitcher's duel in game one before Catawba completed the sweep with a 13-0 five-inning win in game two.
 
The Indians' extended their winning streak to 11 games and improved to 13-10 in the all-time series against Lincoln Memorial, which fell back below .500 in SAC play following the two losses.
 
After a day off, the Lady Railsplitters return to action on Monday with a trip to Brevard, N.C. for a SAC doubleheader against the Brevard Tornados beginning at 2 p.m.
 
Game One: Catawba 3, Lincoln Memorial 1
 
Tysinger - the four-time AstroTurf SAC Pitcher of the Week - retired the last 13 batters she faced and struck out nine in her complete-game performance to help the Indians overcome a gritty outing from Lincoln Memorial hurler Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and take game one.
 
The Lady Railsplitters accounted for just four hits in the game and didn't put a runner on base over the final four innings. BriAnna Schrimpf (Chandler, Ariz.) had a double, while Allie Jones (Ooltewah, Tenn.) notched the only RBI of the game for LMU with a run-scoring single. Lindsay Cecil (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Kristen McAndrew (Belmont, N.C.) also added singles in the contest.
 
Sophomore right-hander Taylor went toe-to-toe with Tysinger, but suffered the hard-luck loss despite giving up just six hits and two earned runs over seven innings of work. Taylor (10-9) retired the last 11 batters she faced and struck out four in the game. 
 
Taylor found herself in some trouble in the top of the first after Caroline Turner worked a lead-off walk and Kristen Stinnard blooped a single into left field. A passed ball moved the runners over to second and third with no outs, but Taylor bore down and forced an infield fly out and back-to-back strikeouts to keep the Indians scoreless.
 
The top of the second began in almost identical fashion as its predecessor, as Katherine Shumaker dropped a single into center field and Delane Smith was walked before another passed ball put runners at second and third without an out. The Indians were able to cash in this time around, though, as Taylor Adams and Holli Chandler accounted for back-to-back sacrifice fly outs to put Catawba in front 2-0.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were limited to just one base runner through the first two innings, but they cooked up some offense in the bottom of the third. Cecil ignited the rally with a two-out single back up the middle and advanced to second on a throwing error by the Catawba center fielder. Jones then took advantage of that miscue by driving a single through the right side of the infield, and Cecil beat the throw home from right field to cut Catawba's lead in half.
 
The Indians answered right back in the top of the fourth, though, as pinch hitter Leah Huggins, Adams and Chandler singled in consecutive at-bats, with Chandler's base knock driving in Huggins to extend Catawba's lead to 3-1. The Indians would load the bases later that inning after a misplayed ball at third, but a fielder's choice and a pop out prevented Catawba from doing any further damage.
 
From that point on, the game would settle into a pitcher's duel, with neither team recording a hit or putting a runner on base from the time the top of the fourth inning ended. Tysinger and Taylor combined to set the last 24 batters of the game down in order.
 
Stinnard led the Catawba attack by going 2 for 4, while Adams produced an RBI on her lone hit of the game.
 
Game Two: Catawba 13, Lincoln Memorial 0 (5 innings)
 
The Indians scored four runs in the top of the first and added four more runs in the fourth frame to highlight a dominant show of force at the plate.
 
Catawba finished with 14 hits in the game, while the Lady Railsplitters produced just one hit for only the second time this season, with their last one-hit showing coming at Wingate on March 20.
 
Ashlea Hunter (Woodruff, S.C.) accounted for LMU's one hit when she doubled off the wall in center field in the bottom of the third. That inning provided the only real scoring opportunity for the Lady Railsplitters, who had runners on second and third with only one out in the inning after Hunter's two-bagger. However, Tysinger struck out the next two LMU batters to keep Lincoln Memorial out of the scoring column.
 
Tysinger (19-4) tossed another complete game with eight strikeouts and three walks to cap the sweep. Tysinger also led the Indians at the plate by going 3 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
 
Samantha Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) was saddled with the loss for the Lady Railsplitters after relinquishing five hits and four earned runs over 2 2/3 innings of work. Kenzie Dixon (Church Hill, Tenn.) threw the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing nine hits and six earned runs over that span.
 
Catawba scored in all five of its plate appearances and jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first. Shumaker opened the scoring that inning with an RBI single, while a fielding error allowed two more runs to score and capped off that four-run outburst.
 
After adding a run in both the second and third inning, the Indians broke the game wide open in the top of the fourth by bringing four more runs home. Chandler concluded that rally with a two-run, two-out single.
 
With the run rule already in effect, the Indians tacked on three more insurance runs in the top of the fifth, an inning highlighted by RBI singles from Tysinger and Huggins.
 
The Lady Railsplitters put a runner on third base in the bottom of the fifth after McAndrew walked and advanced all the way to third on a wild pitch, but Tysinger dusted off her complete-game shutout with a strikeout.
 
The 13-run deficit marks the most lopsided loss for either team in the history of the LMU-Catawba series, which began in 2003.