BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard Tornados (5-8, 1-0 SAC) scored eight unearned runs off of five errors and withstood a late rally to defeat the Railsplitters (5-9, 0-1 SAC) 14-11 in game one of a three-game South Atlantic Conference series on Friday afternoon at Gil Coan Field.
 
Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) reached base safely in five of his six plate appearances, drove in four runs and finished a single shy of the cycle, while Turner Whitfield (Knoxville, Tenn.), Mason Ewers (Kingsport, Tenn.), Russell Clark (Wexford, Pa.) and AJ Weed (Hendersonville, Tenn.) tallied two hits apiece as part of a 15-hit outburst for the Railsplitters.
 
However, the LMU defense committed a season-high five errors, while five different pitchers allowed the Tornados to rack up 13 hits, score four runs in the bottom of the first and tack on eight more in the bottom of the sixth.
 
Brevard's leadoff hitter Schuyler Martire went 3-for-5, scored three times and finished a home run short of the cycle, while three-hole hitter Kyle Morrison went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Nine-hole hitter Brian Kahn also added three hits with two RBI, while Brayden Morris and Tyler Konzen notched a pair of hits apiece.
 
All that allowed the Tornados to account for their highest run total since scoring 18 against California (Pa.) on March 7, 2016.
 
Lefty Ethan Elliott (Knoxville, Tenn.) didn't have his best stuff, allowing nine hits and four earned runs over five-plus innings of work, but the LMU defense committed two errors in the bottom of the first and another one in the second to extend his workload. Elliott was replaced by Dominic Morabito (Vienna, Va.) after allowing a lead-off double in the sixth, but Morabito walked a batter, hit another and then committed a throwing error to open the door for Brevard's eight-run barrage. He was tagged with the loss and fell to 1-1 despite not recording an out in his brief appearance.
 
The Railsplitters took an early 1-0 lead on Augustine's solo home run in the top of the first, his third dinger in the past two games, but Brevard answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Martire and Morrison sandwiched singles around a throwing error to plate the first run, while a pair of RBI groundouts tacked on two more runs. Josh Hall drove in the final run with a single.
 
Lincoln Memorial scored three runs in the third and fourth frames to jump back in front 7-4. In the third, Augustine plated both Whitfield and Muta Crusoe (Bellwood, Ill.), who each singled earlier in the inning, with a double before scoring on Ewers' single back up the middle. In the fourth, a single by Weed, a double by Whitfield, a triple from Augustine and a sacrifice fly out from Ewers scored three runs in succession.
 
The Tornados trimmed the deficit to 7-6 in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI triple from Martire and a run-scoring groundout by Donny Carsillo. The Railsplitters threatened to erase those two runs in the top of the sixth and loaded the bases with two outs, but Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) flew out to left field.
 
Brevard broke the game wide open in the bottom of that inning, using six hits and a pair of errors to score eight runs and take a 14-7 lead. Kahn had a two-run single and Konzen drove in two more with a two-out single off of reliever Cody Hinson (Taylor Ridge, Ill.), who was tagged for five hits and four runs (two earned) over an inning of work.
 
The Railsplitters made it interesting in the top of the eighth, as Ewers and Clark singled before Kalman walked to load the bases with two outs. A throwing error on a ball put in play by Tyler Adams (Woodstock, Ga.) then allowed all three runs to score, while another error on the following play kept the inning alive. Weed drove in another run with a single to close the gap to 14-11, but Crusoe was picked off at home while trying to score on a wild pitch to bring the inning to a close.
 
Augustine drew a lead-off walk in the top of the ninth, but the Railsplitters couldn't conjure up any late-inning magic.
 
Reliever Kross Robinson picked up the win for Brevard after tossing a scoreless sixth frame, while Drake Black earned the save with three innings of three-hit, four-run (no earned) ball.
 
The Railsplitters and Tornados will complete their SAC series with a doubleheader back at Gil Coan Field on Saturday. First pitch in game one is set for 12 p.m.