TUSCON, Ariz. – The Lady Railsplitters (4-0) will make their furthest trip in 20 seasons this weekend when they venture 1,800 miles to Tucson, Arizona to compete in the second-annual Division II Cactus Classic at Lincoln Park. Lincoln Memorial is set to tangle with a slew of unfamiliar programs, beginning with the Academy of Art (3-3) at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on Friday before a showdown against No. 4 nationally-ranked West Texas A&M (11-0) at 1:30. The Lady Railsplitters wrap the Cactus Classic up on Saturday with an 11:30 a.m. start against Fort Lewis (1-4) and a 1:30 first pitch against the University of Mary (0-5).
 
Schedule/Gameday Links:
 
Friday, February 17 vs. Academy of Art (11:30am) – Live Stats
Friday, February 17 vs. No. 4 West Texas A&M (1:30pm) – Live Stats
Saturday, February 18 vs. Fort Lewis (11:30am)
Saturday, February 18 vs. University of Mary (1:30pm)
 
Quick Hits:
-The Lady Railsplitters are returning to action for the first time since sweeping a doubleheader against Lees-McRae on February 8 in the Dorothy Neely Field opener. Lincoln Memorial scored all six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning in a 6-2 win in game one before scoring the only run of the contest on their only hit in a 1-0 win in game two. LMU was originally scheduled to host Virginia-Wise last Thursday, but that game was postponed due to weather.
 
-The Lady Railsplitters are off to their best start since winning the first four games of the 2014 campaign. Lincoln Memorial is looking to move to 5-0 for the first time since the 2011 team won its first 10 games.
 
-LMU hopes to replicate its offensive performance against Mount Olive as opposed to the one against Lees-McRae. In the Lady Railsplitters' sweep over UMO, they racked up 14 runs, 21 hits and five extra-base knocks. Against the Bobcats, LMU was held to just six hits and seven runs with a pair of extra-base hits.
 
-Sophomore Kelsie Hocutt (Wendell, N.C.) leads the Lady Railsplitters with five hits (one double), while freshman Dakotah Fraley (Walkersville, Md.) and junior Ashlea Hunter (Woodruff, S.C.) have four hits apiece. Senior Meredith Johnson (Kenly, N.C.) has a team-high five RBI, while Hunter, Brianna Schrimpf (Chandler, Ariz.) and Allie Jones (Ooltewah, Tenn.) have three apiece.
 
-The Lady Railsplitters have been solid on the mound so far this season with a 2.00 ERA and a .271 batting average against. Junior Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and freshman Justice Smith (Rockmart, Ga.) are both 2-0. Smith has a 1.91 ERA and seven strikeouts in 11 innings of work, while Taylor has a 2.50 ERA over a team-leading 15 innings.
 
-Fraley, Schrimpf, Jennifer Moose (Statesville, N.C.) and Ty-Kella Goins (Ramseur, N.C.) have each reached base in all four games this season. Moose leads the team with a .533 on-base percentage and five walks.
 
Notes on Academy of Art:                                                                        
-The Academy of Art – better known as Art U – is a member of the PacWest Conference located in San Francisco, Calif. The Urban Knights are off to a 3-3 start and enter the Cactus Classic fresh off of a pair of 5-1 wins over Northwest Nazarene on Monday. Prior to that, Art U had lost three straight games, including a couple of run-rule losses to Cal State East Bay.
 
-The Knights are a pretty solid offensive unit that is hitting .296 as a team with a .356 on-base percentage. Art U hasn't flashed a whole lot of pop thus far with 31 of its 40 hits going for singles, a .400 slugging percentage and just one home run on the ledger.  
 
-Freshman outfielder Gabi Hirsch leads Art U with a .563 batting average and nine hits, eight of which are singles. She also leads the team with a pair of stolen bases. Senior outfielder Hallie Curtis has posted a .455 batting average with a triple, while redshirt-freshman utility player Adrianna Rupright is hitting .375 through just eight at-bats. Samantha Klune is responsible for the Knights' lone home run, while Jessica West has two triples and a double.
 
-Art U has struggled on the mound, as three pitchers have combined for a 6.08 earned run average and a .314 batting average against. Opponents are also slugging .572 against the Knights' pitching staff. 6-0 freshman right-hander Hannah Rose Balke leads the Art U staff in innings pitched with 15.1, and has compiled a 5.02 ERA with a 2-1 record, 11 runs allowed 11 strikeouts over that span. Sophomore True Park has thrown 14 innings and leads the way with a 4.50 ERA, but has given up 21 total hits, walked seven and hit two batters.
 
-Art U's three leaders in total at-bats – Freddie Carrillo, Jessica West and Gracie Sotomayor – are all hitting below .300. Sotomayor leads that trio with a .294 clip and five singles.
 
Notes on No. 4 West Texas A&M:
-West Texas A&M has been one of the premier Division II softball programs of this decade. Since the start of the 2010 campaign, the Lady Buffs have compiled a 349-90 overall record, including a perfect 11-0 mark so far this season. That is the most wins by any Texas team at any level of the NCAA over that span. West Texas A&M has won at least 40 games in six of the past seven seasons, went 59-5 last season and won the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship.
 
-The Lady Buffs are off to an 11-0 start this season and have outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 94-18. West Texas A&M has been especially dominant of late, winning its last six games by a combined score of 55-4. That includes five run-rule victories.
 
-West Texas A&M is an offensive juggernaut that is hitting .399 as a team with a .700 slugging percentage and a sizzling .500 on-base percentage. The Lady Buffs ranked second in the nation last season in home runs per game with 1.34, and they are well on their way to exceeding that number with 19 dingers through 11 games. Ten different players have already gone deep for West Texas A&M.
 
-The Lady Buffs have seven different players that are hitting above .380 with at least 20 official at-bats this season. Allie Smith leads that group with a .500 batting average, six doubles, one home runs and 18 RBI over a team-high 34 at-bats. Shanna McBroom is hitting .484 with two doubles and three home runs, while Shea Ibrahim has a .481 batting average with two home runs and 10 RBI. Kourtney Coveney (.448, 6 RBI), Kylee Moore (.435, 4 HR, 11 RBI) and Shayne Starkey (.400, 1 HR) are also among West Texas A&M's offensive leaders.
 
-The Lady Buffs are also solid on the mound with a 1.42 earned run average and a .256 batting average against. Kilee Halbert leads the team in innings pitched with 23, and has compiled a 1.22 ERA and 13 strikeouts over that span with a 4-0 record. Alexis Alfonso has tossed 19.1 innings and allowed just four earned runs, putting up a 1.45 ERA with a 4-0 mark.
 
Notes on Fort Lewis:
-The Fort Lewis Skyhawks – a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – are off to a slow start with losses in four of their first five games, but that does includes a 6-0 season-opening loss to West Texas A&M. The Skyhawks were picked to finish 10th in the 12-team RMAC after compiling a 15-32 overall record in 2016.
 
-Fort Lewis has produced at the plate with a .304 batting average and a .435 slugging percentage, but the Skyhawks' pitching staff has allowed opponents to hit .345 and account for a 43-29 scoring edge. Opponents are slugging .556 and reaching base at a .469 clip against Fort Lewis' four pitchers.
 
-Fort Lewis has been led this season by sophomore infielder Gianna Melaragno, who has a team-high 10 runs, eight hits and two triples. Freshman Allison Young is off to a strong start as well with a .462 batting average with six singles. Adriana Rosthenhausler (.455, 3 2B), Angelique Elemen (.438, 10 RBI, 4 2B) and Lauren Caldwell (.417, 5 hits) have also contributed early for the Skyhawks. Elemen has the team's only home run while also leading the team in runs batted in.
 
-The Skyhawks have struggled in the field with eight errors and a .944 fielding percentage through five games. Fort Lewis had three errors against both Fort Hays State and Missouri Southern State.
 
-Fort Lewis is hitting .370 with runners on base this season, but just .211 with the bases empty.
 
-Freshman Madison Stanich leads the team with 11 innings pitched and has allowed 21 hits and 14 earned runs over that span with just five strikeouts. Freshman Olivia Bratt is second on the team with 8.0 innings pitched, during which she has surrendered 14 hits and 12 earned runs. Senior Megan Redd (3.94) is the only player with an ERA below four for the Skyhawks, but she has pitched the fewest innings with 5.1.
 
Notes on University of Mary:
-The Marauders have been outscored 53-8 already this season and enter the Cactus Classic with an 0-5 record. That includes a 10-2 loss to Humboldt State, an 11-1 loss to California State Monterey Bay and a 15-2 loss to Montana State Billings.
 
-University of Mary has been downright bad in nearly every phase of the game. The Marauders are hitting .214 as a team, reaching base at a .270 clip and have produced just six extra-base hits through five games. University of Mary has also struck out 33 times and drawn a mere eight walks. On defense, UM has committed 25 errors (five per game), accounted for a 7.72 team ERA and allowed opposing teams to bat .342.
 
-Senior utility player Taylor Mendez, junior utility Madison McGonigal and freshman shortstop Hannah Holtz are the only everyday players hitting above .300 for the Marauders. Mendez is hitting .385 with a pair of doubles and a home run, while McGonigal is batting .333 with four hits and a home run. Holtz has three singles through her first 10 career at-bats. McGonigal has been a real liability for University of Mary in the field with a team-high seven errors.
 
-Sophomore Taylor Lara has pitched a team-high 12.1 innings for the Marauders, but has been pinned with a 9.08 ERA, 22 hits and 16 runs over that span. She has allowed more doubles (6) than she has strikeouts (5). Brieann Backes (8.88 ERA, 8.2 IP) and Madison Jahner (4.38 ERA, 8.0 IP) haven't been a whole lot better.
 
-University of Mary has been plagued by big innings from opposing teams. In the loss to Humboldt State, the Marauders allowed six runs in the first frame. In the 11-1 loss to CSU Monterey Bay, they gave up eight runs in the second inning. UM also yielded 10 runs in the top of the seventh in its 15-2 loss to MSU Billings.
 
Series History:
This weekend will mark the Lady Railsplitters' first games against any of these four opponents. It also stands as Lincoln Memorial's further trip west since traveling to Carson, Calif. during the 1997 campaign.