SALEM, Va. – The Lady Railsplitters (12-6) will play three games on Saturday as part of the Salem Tournament, squaring off against USciences in the morning before turning around to face West Liberty and Shippensburg in the afternoon. The Salem Tournament was originally scheduled to run through Sunday, but was shortened due to the projected winter weather in the forecast.
 
The Salem Tournament will mark the start of the season for both USciences and West Liberty, while Shippensburg (9-7) heads into the weekend after taking three of five games last weekend at the Shaw Tournament in Cary, North Carolina.
 
Schedule/Gameday Links:
Live stats or video will not be available for Saturday's games
 
Saturday, March 11 vs. USciences (10am)
Saturday, March 11 vs. West Liberty (2pm)
Saturday, March 11 vs. Shippensburg (4pm)
 
Quick Hits:
 
-Lincoln Memorial split a doubleheader against Virginia-Wise on Thursday at Dorothy Neely Field, winning 6-0 in game one before falling 2-1 in game two. The day before that, the Lady Railsplitters outscored the undermanned Bluefield State Big Blues 27-0 in a pair of five-inning run rules.
 
-In game one against Virginia-Wise, Kelsie Hocutt (Wendell, N.C.) went 3-for-4 with three RBI while Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.) tossed her second straight complete-game shutout to lead the Lady Railsplitters to victory. Meredith Johnson (Kenly, N.C.) and Allie Jones (Ooltewah, Tenn.) added two hits apiece, while Ashlea Hunter (Woodruff, S.C.) delivered a two-run double in the first meeting between Lincoln Memorial and UVa-Wise since 2009.
 
-After racking up 11 hits in game one, the Lady Railsplitters were limited to just three singes by Virginia-Wise starter Taylor Brandts in a 2-1 loss in game two. Hocutt had another solid performance, reaching base three times via two walks and a hit by pitch while allowing just five hits and one run in 6.1 innings of relief in the circle. Lincoln Memorial scored its only run courtesy of Teddi Collins' (Germantown, Ohio) suicide squeeze bunt in the bottom of the second, and stranded five runners on base after that.
 
-As a team, Lincoln Memorial is hitting .379 this season with runners in scoring position and .328 with runners on base. The second game against Virginia-Wise was one of just four times this season that the Lady Railsplitters have failed to muster a hit with runners in scoring position. LMU is batting a sizzling .588 (10-for-17) with the bases loaded. Johnson is leading the team with a .636 average with runners in scoring position, while Dakotah Fraley (Walkersville, Md.) is batting .500 in those situations. Hocutt (.438) and Collins (.455) haven't been too shabby either.
 
-Freshman Justice Smith (Rockmart, Ga.) has been shaky in two of her last three starts. She allowed six earned runs, nine hits and seven walks in 4.2 innings at North Georgia and gave up four hits and a run while recording just two outs in her start against Virginia-Wise. Smith has shown flashes of brilliance, though, as she struck out 10 in a complete-game performance against Fort Lewis and blanked Lees-McRae over seven innings of work in her second career appearance.
 
-The Lady Railsplitters are ranked smack dab in the middle of the SAC in batting average (.317), on-base percentage (.396) and slugging percentage (.456). Lincoln Memorial has struck out just 70 times so far this season, which are the second-fewest in the league. But LMU has also drawn the third-fewest walks with 52.
 
-Lincoln Memorial has dominated the first, fourth and fifth innings this season. In the opening frame, the Lady Railsplitters have outscored their opponents 21-10 and are a perfect 6-0 when they score first. LMU has been even more dominant in the fourth inning with a 27-10 scoring edge. The Lady Railsplitters have also accumulated a 21-7 advantage in the fifth inning.  
 
Notes on USciences:
 
-The Devils finished the 2016 campaign with a disappointing 12-29 record and lost six of their seven games. USciences is now under new leadership, as Shannon Paula was tabbed as the program's head softball coach in August 2016.
 
-Ashley Lewis and Evangelina Olivera return for USciences after posting .331 and .297 batting averages, respectively, last season. Lewis tied for the team-lead in hits with 44 and finished with two doubles, one triple and 11 RBI, while Olivera tallied 30 hits with four doubles, a home run and nine RBI. Emily Harris is also back after producing a .324 batting average with three doubles and 10 RBI last season.
 
-Seven different players made an appearance in the circle for USciences last season. Innings pitched leader Cassie Lapotsky graduated, but sophomore Kaitlyn Gaynor is back after compiling a 3-8 record, a 5.00 ERA and 47 strikeouts over 82.2 innings in 2016. Kyla Colburn is also back after going 2-2 last season with a 5.97 ERA and 47 hits allowed in 31.2 innings.
 
-The Devils hit just .265 as a team with a .317 slugging percentage last season, accounting for a meager 11 homers.
 
Notes on West Liberty:
 
-The Hilltoppers posted a dreadful 13-41 record a season ago and were outscored 365-159 over the course of the year. Like USciences, West Liberty made a coaching change this offseason and brought back Herb Minch, who previously served as the head coach for the Hilltoppers for 17 seasons before stepping down to focus on his role as the school's head Athletic Trainer.  In his previous stint, Minch compiled more than 400 wins and was inducted into the West Liberty Hall of Fame.
 
-The Hilltoppers have 10 freshmen on their roster to go along with two sophomores, seven juniors and three seniors.
 
-West Liberty returns four of its five leading hitters from last season's team in Nicki Mihalik, Kelsi Johnson, Damia Mogielski and Kylee Ensign. Mihalik hit .364 with 14 doubles, two home runs and 21 RBI, while Johnson led the team in hits (55), home runs (4) and RBI (31) last season. Mogielski accumulated three doubles, three homers and 18 hit-by-pitches. Ensign amassed 40 hits with seven steals.
 
-The Hilltoppers posted an 8.25 team earned run average last season. Savanna Sieger led West Liberty as a sophomore with 216.1 innings pitched, going 11-19 over that span. She finished with 126 strikeouts and a 6.37 ERA, which was the lowest among six players that made at least one appearance for the Hilltoppers.
 
Notes on Shippensburg:
 
-The Raiders are off to a 9-7 start to the 2017 campaign after winning three of five games at the Shaw Tournament last weekend. In that event, Shippensburg crushed Lincoln (11-0) and Virginia Union (9-1) in run-rule victories while also topping West Virginia State 4-2. The Raiders lost to Charleston (8-7) and South Atlantic Conference foe Queens (9-1).
 
-The Raiders have relied on a pretty steady pitching staff that has pieced together a 2.69 team earned run average. Nicole Smith has led Shippensburg in the circle with a 1.21 ERA, a 3-2 record and 26 strikeouts over 34.2 innings. Chloe Collins has thrown 34 much-less effective innings, accumulating a 4.12 ERA with a .248 batting average against.
 
-Collins has been far and away the best offensive player for the Raiders, though, as the junior outfielder leads the team in batting average (.423), hits (22), doubles (6), steals (10) and total bases (28). Along with Collins, Tara Bicko is the only other everyday player hitting above .300 with a .333 average. The junior outfielder has 16 hits with two doubles and seven RBI so far.
 
-Shippensburg has been mistake-prone early in the season with 32 errors through the first 16 games. Infielder Emily Zaring has already made 10 errors to lead the team in that department.