HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Railsplitters (23-13, 9-6 SAC) look to win their first South Atlantic Conference series since the middle of March this weekend when they host the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (26-12, 7-8 SAC) for a three-game set at Lamar Hennon Field on Sunday and Monday. Here's everything you need to know:
 
Schedule/Game Day Links:
 
Sunday, April 10 vs. Lenoir-Rhyne - Doubleheader at 1 p.m. Live Stats
Monday, April 11 vs. Lenoir-Rhyne - 1 p.m. Live Stats
 
Quick Hits:
-The Railsplitters dropped their second straight SAC series last weekend at Mars Hill, losing two of three to the Lions to fall to 9-6 in conference play. After splitting the first two games of that series, with Mars Hill taking game one 11-3 and Lincoln Memorial winning game two 4-0, the Railsplitters were leading 5-3 midway through the seventh inning in game three. However, the Lions scored eight unanswered runs to capture an 11-5 win. That loss denied the Railsplitters of their first SAC series win since taking two of three from Wingate on March 11-12.
-Freshman left-hander Ethan Elliott (Knoxville, Tenn.) threw a complete-game shutout in game two at Mars Hill, improving to 7-1 on the season while allowing just six hits and striking out a career-high 12 batters without a walk. This weekend, Elliott will look to do what no LMU pitcher has done since 2006: win at least eight games in a season. If he wins his start on Sunday, Elliott would become only the fourth pitcher in program history to win eight games in a season and the first since Joe Workman went 9-5 in 2006. Elliott is tied for the SAC lead in wins and is sixth in strikeouts with 52.
-Junior right-hander Brandon Jean (Franklin, Tenn.) is looking to bounce back from a rough outing last weekend at Mars Hill, when he lasted just 3 2/3 innings and allowed eight hits with five earned runs. Jean is winless in his last three starts, as he hasn't picked up a victory since going 6 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts in a 7-4 win over Wingate on March 11.
-In order to turn the page on their recent struggles in SAC play, the Railsplitters are going to have to find a way to create more offense. Over the course of the entire season, Lincoln Memorial is sporting a slash line of .315/.428/.487, ranking in the top four in the league in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging. But in just SAC play alone, the Railsplitters' slash line is .287/.374/.439. The Railsplitters haven't recorded 10-plus hits against a SAC opponent since racking up 15 against Wingate on March 12.
-Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) is in the midst of a resurgent season in his second year with the Railsplitters. After battling through nagging injuries last season and hitting .304 with five doubles and four home runs, Kalman is batting .408 this season while ranking third in the SAC in on-base percentage with a gaudy .510 clip. The Brooklyn, New York native has recorded 10 doubles, four home runs and 30 RBI, matching his RBI total from the 2015 campaign.
 
Notes on the Bears:
-Like the Railsplitters, Lenoir-Rhyne is trying to snap a streak of two straight SAC series losses, as the Bears lost two of three to Coker last weekend after dropping two of three games in a home series against Tusculum at the end of March. Lenoir-Rhyne is 13-2 outside of Hickory, North Carolina this season.
-The Bears are a dangerous offensive bunch, as they carry a .319/.407/.459 slash line into this weekend while ranking among the top three in the SAC in hits (417), doubles (97), RBI (288) and extra-base hits (128). Lenoir-Rhyne's numbers are substantially lower in conference play, though, as the Bears are recording a slash line of .276/.375/.421 against league opponents.
-The Bears are led by one of the most dangerous hitters in the conference in senior Matthew De La Rose, who is batting .407 with 11 doubles, eight home runs and 53 RBI. Fellow senior Ryan Perkins hasn't been too shabby either with a .316 batting average, 13 doubles, two triples and 27 RBI. Others to watch include Justin Dean (.308, 12 2B, 27 RBI), Will Thompson (.346, 12 2B, 35 RBI) and Colby Dishmond (.331, 10 2B, 7 HR, 37 RBI).
-Lenoir-Rhyne claims one of the better pitching staffs in the SAC, ranking second in the league in earned run average (4.07) and batting average against (.263). The Railsplitters are likely to see sophomore Austin Hancock in game one. Hancock is 5-1 this season with a 2.91 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings of work. Sophomore Landon Whitson is another potential starter this weekend, as he carries a 3-3 record with a 4.75 ERA and 26 K's in 30 1/3 innings. Junior Thomas St. Clair could make a start this weekend as well. He is 1-2 this season with 31 strikeouts in 25 1/3 frames.
-Despite their power to all sides of the field, the Bears haven't hit many home runs this season, ranking eighth in the SAC with 24 dingers. Lenoir-Rhyne has just two homers in its last eight games, and both of those came in game two against Coker, which the Bears won easily 22-9.
 
Series History:
-The Railsplitters are 19-11 all-time against Lenoir-Rhyne with a streak of six straight wins in the series. Lincoln Memorial won all three games at Lenoir-Rhyne in 2014 by scores of 4-3, 4-1 and 9-2. Last season, bad weather forced the Railsplitters to play their "home" series in Hickory, where the Lincoln Memorial pulled out a clean sweep with 10-3, 9-5 and 12-3 wins over the then 23rd-ranked Bears.
-In the last series at Lamar Hennon Field in 2013, the Bears won two of three games, beating the Railsplitters 8-7 in game one and 4-3 in game three. Lincoln Memorial salvaged the series with an 8-6 win in game two.