HARROGATE, Tenn. – Lincoln Memorial (16-14, 7-3 SAC) jumped ahead early and held off a late Catawba rally to defeat the SAC-leading Indians (20-8, 12-3 SAC) 11-9 in Friday's series opener at Lamar Hennon Field. The two teams combined for 20 runs, 24 hits and seven home runs in the slugfest.

Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to put the Railsplitters ahead. Timmy Wages (Molin, Ill.) reached base safely in all four plate appearances, going 2-for-2, and crushed a solo shot to left in the third inning. Nate Stinson (Jonesboro, Ga.) also homered for Lincoln Memorial. Muta Crusoe (Bellwood, Ill.) and Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) each added a pair of RBI.

Zach Almond and Malachi Hanes each homered twice and drove in three runs for the Indians. The pair each hit a solo and two-run shot, but the team's only other hit with runners on base was a Ben Bomberger single in the eighth inning. Catawba went just 3-for-17 with runners on base and 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Brandon Jean (Franklin, Tenn.) pitched 6.1 innings to earn his third straight win. He allowed six earned runs, 10 hits and struck out four. All six runs came on Almond's and Hanes' home runs.

Catawba's Russ Weiker allowed nine runs (seven earned) in 4.1 innings to take the loss.

Almond's first homer, a solo shot to right center, kicked off the scoring in the top of the first inning. The Railsplitters answered with four runs in the bottom half on Augustine's home run and a two-run single by Crusoe.

Wages' moonshot to left in the third provided the Railsplitters another run. Hanes's solo shot in the top of the fourth cut Lincoln Memorial's lead to 5-2.

Lincoln Memorial added four more runs in the bottom of the fifth to increase its lead to 9-2. Wages walked with the bases loaded to bring in the first run of the inning and knock out Weiker. Kalman hit into a fielder's choice to score another run. The final two came around on wild pitches by reliever Clay Walker.

Two-run homers by Hanes in the sixth and Almond in the seventh pulled the Indians back to within striking distance at 9-6. Almond's home run knocked Jean from the game.

Lincoln Memorial added an insurance run in the seventh and eighth innings. Kalman hit into another fielder's choice to score the run in the seventh, and Stinson homered to lead off the eighth as the Railsplitters increased their lead to 11-6.

Dominic Morabito (Vienna, Va.) worked out of a jam in the eighth and finished off the Indians in the ninth. However, he did not make closing them out easy as he walked four and allowed three Catawba runs to score without the benefit of a hit. With the tying runs in scoring position and go-ahead run at the plate, Morabito got SAC home run leader Luke Setzer to ground out to third to end the game.

The two teams play a doubleheader Saturday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.