HARROGATE, Tenn. – Lincoln Memorial swept both ends of a doubleheader against Kentucky State (3-10) Tuesday to close out a 4-1 home stand. The Railsplitters (5-8) scored four unanswered runs and walked off on an
AJ Weed (Hendersonville, Tenn.) single in game one. The second game was not as tightly contested as the Railsplitters used an eight-run second inning to coast to a 14-2 victory.
Mason Ewers (Kingsport, Tenn.) completed a 10-for-18 home stand with a 4-for-6 afternoon and drove in three more runs to increase his team-leading total to 15. He recorded exactly two hits in each of the five games played at Lamar Hennon Field and drove in nine runs.
Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) also launched a pair of home runs in the second game and scored five runs on the afternoon.
With the sweep, the Railsplitters improve to 23-1 all-time against the Thorobreds, including a perfect 12-0 at Lamar Hennon Field.
The Railsplitters open South Atlantic Conference play Friday and Saturday at Brevard. First pitch Friday is set for 2 p.m.
Game One: Lincoln Memorial 5, Ohio Valley 4
The Railsplitters walked off in the bottom of the seventh inning to complete their comeback from a 4-1 deficit in the fifth inning. Lincoln Memorial scored a pair of runs in the fifth and seventh innings to stun the Thorobreds. Weed's single, which drove in Ewers, capped the come-from-behind victory.
The single was Weed's only hit of the game. He drove in another run earlier on a groundout to finish 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Ewers went 2-for-3 with a walk and pair of runs scored. He also had a crucial stolen base that set up his game-winning run.
Jay Poullard had a pair of RBI singles and went 2-for-3 for the Thorobreds, and Greg Alexander connected for a solo home run.
Jake Watkins (Powder Springs, Ga.) made his first start of the season for the Railsplitters but was pulled after 2.1 innings with the team trailing 3-0. Eight of the 14 batters he faced reached base—seven hits and a walk.
Elijah Collins and Artie Santomo led off the game with singles off Watkins, and both came around to score as Kentucky State jumped ahead 2-0 before the Railsplitters came up to bat. Collins scored on a groundout by the next batter, and Santomo scored two batters later on Poullard's first RBI knock.
Santomo walked to lead off the top of the third and came around to score on Poullard's second RBI. The hit also knocked Watkins out of the game.
Cody Hinson (Taylor Ridge, Ill.) inherited a first-and-third, one-out situation but retired the next two batters to prevent any further damage.
Timmy Wages (Molin, Ill.) and
Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led off the bottom of the fourth with singles, and Weed followed by hitting into a fielder's choice to bring home Wages for the team's first run.
Kentucky State got that run back in the top half of the fifth on Alexander's home run. It was the only run and just one of two hits Hinson allowed in a season-high 4.2 innings.
Lincoln Memorial answered back in the bottom of the fifth with two runs on a
Russell Clark (Wexford, Pa.) double. Kentucky State starting pitcher Chae Butler quickly retired the first two batters of the inning before Augustine laced a double to left center. Ewers followed with a walk to bring up Clark, who drove in both base runners. Butler then got Wages to strike out swinging to complete his afternoon still in line for the win.
The score remained 4-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh. Kentucky State freshman reliever Matthew Oxford pitched a scoreless sixth inning and came back out for the seventh inning. Augustine walked to lead off, and Ewers followed with a single to left. Both advanced on a successful double steal. Oxford then got Clark to strike out looking and intentionally walked Wages to load the bases. Kalman followed with a single up the middle to bring in Augustine and tie the game at four. Weed then knocked his walk-off single to right.
Hinson upped his record to 1-1 on the year, while Oxford fell to 0-3.
Game Two: Lincoln Memorial 14, Kentucky State 2
Augustine, Ewers and
Muta Crusoe (Bellwood, Ill.) combined to go 7-for-8 at the plate with eight RBI and six runs scored to power the Railsplitter offense. Augustine connected for a pair of home runs, and Crusoe went 3-for-3 with three doubles in his first start of the season.
Augustine's first home run was a two-run shot to right center in the first inning to give Lincoln Memorial a quick 2-0 lead off Kentucky State starter Eric Andersen.
Lincoln Memorial added eight more runs in the second on just three hits. Andersen walked two and hit four batters in the inning as he struggled mightily with command. He finished his 1.2-inning outing with nine runs allowed (eight earned) on just three hits. He also hit five batters.
Crusoe doubled twice in the inning. His first knock started the rally and was the only hit Andersen allowed before being pulled. The second drove in the final two runs of the rally to put Lincoln Memorial up 10-0.
Wages started the game on the mound for the Railsplitters and pitched three perfect innings, striking out seven, to improve to 2-1.
Augustine's second home run, a solo blast to right center, increased the lead to 11-0 in the bottom of the third.
Ewers singled home two more runs as part of a three-run fourth to increase the lead to 14-0.
Kentucky State scored on a sac fly in the fifth and bases-loaded walk in the sixth to score its pair of runs. Brandon Story went 2-for-3 to finish as the lone Thorobred with multiple hits in the game.
