MELBOURNE, Fla. – Lincoln Memorial and Florida Tech engaged in a pitcher's duel for seven innings between Ethan Elliott (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Ty Cohen, but the Panthers (4-1) eventually got the better of the Railsplitters (1-4) in a 7-2 victory.

Cohen allowed just one unearned run and five hits—all singles—in six innings of work with two strikeouts and improved to 2-0, while Elliott finished with two earned runs allowed on three hits and two walks in 5.1 innings. He also struck out six in the tough-luck loss to fall to 0-2.

Freshman AJ Weed (Hendersonville, Tenn.) accounted for three of the Railsplitters' seven hits on the evening, while Reid Neil was the only Panther with multiple hits in a 2-for-3 effort. He also walked and drove in two runs. Nick Capra added three more RBI for the Panthers.

Lincoln Memorial jumped on the board quickly off Cohen in the top of the first, as Mason Ewers (Kingsport, Tenn.) singled in Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa), who had reached on an error by center fielder James Gronberg. Nate Stinson (Jonesboro, Ga.) and Russell Clark (Wexford, Pa.) also singled in the inning.

Weed singled in the top of the second for his first hit on the night. Turner Whitfield (Knoxville, Tenn.) followed with a hit-by-pitch, but then Cohen settled in for good. He retired the next two batters to finish the inning and 14 of the next 15 to finish his night. A Weed single in the fourth was his only other blemish.

Elliott coasted through the first four innings, allowing just one hit, but the Panthers finally got to him in the bottom of the fifth. Gronberg walked to lead off the inning and stole second. A bunt single moved him to third, and he scored on a sac fly. Two batters later, John Sternagel doubled to bring home another run and give Florida Tech a 2-1 lead. Sternagel stole third, followed by a walk, but Elliott got Grant McKown to pop out to end the inning and avoid any further damage.

Elliott started the sixth inning with a strikeout then was replaced with Cody Hinson, who finished off the 1-2-3 inning.

Hinson opened the bottom of the seventh with two more quick outs but Trent Masih reached on a bunt single and stole second to kickstart another Panther rally. Sternagel was intentionally walked, and Neil doubled to drive in both runners. McKown followed with an RBI single to push the Florida Tech lead to 5-1.

The Railsplitters got a run back in the top of the eighth on an Eric Kalman (Brookyn, N.Y.) single following back-to-back walks of Augustine and Clark.

Derek Trainor-Fogleman (Gaithersburg, Md.) came on for the Railsplitters in the eighth but allowed hits to the first three batters, which gave the Panthers two more runs. A double, single and stolen base put runners on second and third for Capra, who drove a single to right to push the lead to 7-2.

The Railsplitters and Panthers complete their three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.