HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitters (16-7) open South Atlantic Conference play on Sunday when they host the Wingate Bulldogs (13-13) for a doubleheader at Dorothy Neely Field beginning at 1 p.m. Lincoln Memorial heads into the conference opener after sweeping a doubleheader from Trevecca on Thursday, while split with North Greenville last Saturday.
 
Schedule/Gameday Links:
 
Sunday, March 19 vs. Wingate
Game One (1pm) – Live Stats
Game Two (3pm) – Live Stats
 
Quick Hits:
 
-The Lady Railsplitters racked up 10-plus hits for the 12th time this season and all nine starters reached safely in a 5-3 win over Trevecca in game one of Thursday's doubleheader. Jennifer Moose (Statesville, N.C.) went 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Ashlea Hunter (Woodruff, S.C.) also added two hits. Meredith Johnson (Kenly, N.C.) hit her first home run of the season to tie the game up in the bottom of the second. Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.) tossed her 10th complete game of the season, which ranks fifth in the South Atlantic Conference.
 
-After failing to last even a single inning in two of her three previous starts, freshman right-hander Justice Smith (Rockmart, Ga.) dominated from start to finish in game two, allowing just two singles in a complete-game shutout. Smith gave up a bloop single in the top of the first and an infield single in the top of the fifth, but didn't allow another base runner in the contest. Ty-Kella Goins (Ramseur, N.C.) drove in the only run of the game with an RBI double in the bottom of the first.
 
-Goins (6) and Hunter (5) currently boast the longest hitting streaks on the team. Since shaking off a 2-for-16 start to her career, Goins is batting over .500 in her last 17 games with a sizzling 23-for-51 clip at the plate. That stretch has lifted the freshman's average from .125 to .373. Hunter has hit safely in 14 of her last 15 games, and has produced multiple hits in three of her last five to drive her average to .365.
 
-Freshman Dakotah Fraley (Walkersville, Md.) still leads the Lady Railsplitters in nearly every offensive category, as the shortstop has racked up a team-high 27 hits, six doubles, four home runs, 11 walks, .380 batting average and .662 slugging percentage. Fraley has hit safely in seven of her last eight games and went 2-for-6 with an RBI and a run against Trevecca.
 
-The Lady Railsplitters improved to 7-1 at Dorothy Neely Field this season following Thursday's sweep. Statistically, Lincoln Memorial has been measurably better on its home field, compiling a .295/.392/.363 slash line compared to .280/.342/.360 marks on the road. LMU's pitching staff has a 0.81 earned run average with 4.58 strikeouts per seven innings at home compared to a 3.97 ERA and 2.27 K/7 on the road.
 
-Lincoln Memorial finished tied for fifth place in the SAC standings last season with an 11-11 mark. The Lady Railsplitters were picked sixth in the 2017 preseason poll behind Lenoir-Rhyne, Carson-Newman, Wingate, Catawba and Anderson.
 
Notes on the Bulldogs:
 
-In Wingate's split with North Greenville last Saturday, the Crusaders scored the game-tying run in the top of the seventh inning and put the winning run across in the top of the ninth to capture a 2-1 win in game one. The Bulldogs returned the favor in game two, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth to salvage the split with a 4-1 win.
 
-Wingate has had a rollercoaster season so far. After winning four of their first five games, the Bulldogs went through a stretch with eight losses over a nine-game span, which included three extra-inning setbacks. Since that, Wingate has won eight of its last 12 games.
 
-Sophomore outfielder Naomi Sapp is one of just three everyday players hitting above .300 for the Bulldogs, as she has accumulated a team-leading 32 hits, seven doubles, 15 walks, a.381 average and .485 on-base percentage (9th in the SAC). She went 0-for-6 in the North Greenville doubleheader. Prior to that, she had multiple hits in four of her last five games.
 
-Freshmen Mary Claire Coyne and Jessica Voncannon are the other two Wingate players hitting above .300. Claire Coyne is batting .333 with seven doubles, three home runs and nine RBI, while Voncannon has registered four doubles, one home run and eight RBI with a .307 average. Those two have also combined to strikeout 24 times.
 
-Freshman catcher Jordan Floyd leads the team with 17 RBI to go along with five doubles and three home runs, while senior Katie McLaurin has a team-high four dingers, but both Floyd and McLaurin are hitting just .250 so far this season.
 
-Sophomore Rachel Weidner and freshman Aubrey Reep have split duties in the circle for the Bulldogs. Weidner has been the most effective of that duo with a 2.23 ERA and a .208 batting average against with 68 strikeouts over 94.1 innings of work. Reep leads the team in wins with eight, and has compiled a 2.81 ERA with 69 strikeouts over 79.2 innings.
 
-The Bulldogs are near the bottom of the conference in batting average (.283, 10th), on-base percentage (.360, 10th) and slugging percentage (.425, 9th).
 
Series History:
 
-The Lady Railsplitters are 7-13 all-time against Wingate and 2-6 at Dorothy Neely Field.
 
-Lincoln Memorial has won two of the last three meetings since beating the Bulldogs 2-1 in the 2015 SAC Tournament and splitting a doubleheader at Wingate last season.
 
-In game one of last season's series, the Lady Railsplitters rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to take down Wingate in eight innings, 4-3. Moose hit a two-run home run to bring LMU within one before Hunter tied the game with a solo shot in the top of the seventh. Johnson then singled in the winning run in the eighth. Game two was a much different story, as the Lady Railsplitters were limited to one hit while the Bulldogs piled up 12 in an 8-0 win in five innings. Johnson notched the lone hit of the game for LMU.