HICKORY, N.C. – Seth Hunt (Knoxville, Tenn.) went 3-for-5, and Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) scored three runs as the Railsplitters (10-12, 4-3 SAC) took advantage of six Bears errors to come from behind to beat Lenoir-Rhyne (14-7, 3-4 SAC) 7-4 Friday evening.

Hunt recorded three hits for the second consecutive game after a 3-for-4 performance Tuesday at Bellarmine. His batting average now sits at .325 after starting the year 2-for-17 through his first eight games. Augustine went 0-for-3 but walked twice to extend his on-base streak to 22 games to start the year.

Lincoln Memorial handed back-to-back reigning NCBWA NCAA Division II Southeast Region Pitcher of the Week Thomas St. Clair his first loss of the season. Coming off consecutive complete games with a combined 33 strikeouts, St. Clair allowed five runs (one earned) in five innings to fall to 6-1 on the season and 0-3 in his career against Lincoln Memorial. He struck out eight batters but also walked three and allowed five hits.

St. Clair did not receive any help defensively from his teammates. David Newcomer, Fred Wadsworth and Cole Abshire each committed an error behind him, which led to four unearned runs. Wadsworth committed two more in the ninth inning that led to another run, while Abshire also added another.

Brandon Jean (Franklin, Tenn.) improved to 2-3 on the year, striking out seven in a season-high 6.1 innings. He allowed four runs (three earned) and allowed eight hits and two walks. Dominic Morabito (Vienna, Va.) worked a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season.

Grant Fuller, Marcus Shoemaker and Alex Reynolds, the Bears' 2-3-4 hitters, combined to bat 7-for-15 but received little support from the rest of the lineup. Shoemaker recorded two of those hits to increase his SAC-leading total to 43, including his 11th double of the season to take over that category as well. All other Lenoir-Rhyne batters went just 4-for-23. Zach Jacobs and Justin Dean, ranked third and eighth in the conference in batting average respectively, combined to go 0-for-7.

Lenoir-Rhyne struck first with two runs in the bottom of the first. Fuller started the rally with an infield single, followed by RBI doubles from Shoemaker and Reynolds.
St. Clair allowed his only earned run in the top of the third. Hunt singled home Tyler Adams (Woodstock, Ga.), who had reached on a walk and advanced on a passed ball.

The Railsplitters added two more runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 3-2 lead. Augustine led off the inning with a walk, and Timmy Wages (Molin, Ill.) reached on Abshire's first error two batters later. Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Adams followed with RBI doubles to drive them both in.

The Bears re-took the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Jean quickly retired the first two batters before allowing three straight singles. The third, hit by Abshire, was a slow dribbler back to Jean. Jean threw the ball away trying to make the play, which allowed the first run to score. He uncorked a wild pitch during the next at bat to allow another run to cross home.

Lincoln Memorial responded with two more runs in the next half inning to take the lead back for good. Hunt led off with a single, and Augustine reached on Newcomer's fielding error. St. Clair then unleashed a costly wild pitch that advanced both runners into scoring position. Russell Clark (Wexford, Pa.) followed with an RBI groundout to bring in the tying run. Wages then reached on another fielding error, this time by Wadsworth, which allowed Augustine to score.

The Railsplitters added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Hunt again led off the inning with a single and later scored on Clark's double. Wages then reached on an error for the third time in the game. Wadsworth committed two errors on the play—first a fielding error and then a throwing one—that allowed the second run to cross.

Lenoir-Rhyne loaded the bases against Morabito in the bottom of the ninth, but he got Jacobs to harmlessly ground out to the catcher to seal the victory.

The teams play two more games Saturday afternoon. The first game is slated for a 1 p.m. start with the second following at approximately 4 p.m.