HARROGATE, Tenn. – Following a weekend sweep of Carson-Newman, the Railsplitters (22-16, 13-5 SAC) welcome another in-state opponent to Lamar Hennon Field in the King Tornado (16-21, 7-14 Conference Carolinas). The teams will resume a game from March 29 at King that was suspended due to darkness in the top of the 10^th inning followed by a traditional nine-inning affair.
 
Schedule/Game Day Links:

Wednesday, April 12 (3 p.m.) - Live Stats
 
Quick Hits:

- Mason Ewers (Kingsport, Tenn.) homered and drove in two runs in the March 29 affair as part of a 2-for-5 afternoon. Seth Hunt (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also each collected two hits and RBI.

- The Railsplitters moved into a four-way tie for first place in the South Atlantic Conference with their sweep of Carson-Newman. Catawba, Tusculum, Newberry and Lincoln Memorial all sit atop the conference with a 13-5 record. The Railsplitters have already beaten Catawba and Tusculum in series this year and will host Newberry Friday and Saturday in a crucial three-game series. Catawba and Tusculum will also face off against each other over the weekend.

- Brandon Jean (Franklin, Tenn.) won his fifth straight start in Lincoln Memorial's 8-2 series-opening victory over the Eagles Saturday with his first career nine-inning complete game. The senior righty struck out 10 and improved to 6-3 on the year. The outing continued Jean's stellar conference performance as he improved to 5-1 with a 3.57 ERA against SAC competition.

- Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) knocked a seeing-eye single up the middle in the bottom of the seventh of game two of Saturday's doubleheader to score pinch runner Triston Campbell (Cumming, Ga.) as Lincoln Memorial walked off with 4-3. Every Railsplitter starter recorded at least one hit, but none were bigger than Timmy Wages' (Molin, Ill.) solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at three and Augustine's walk-off one inning later.

- The Railsplitters overcame a 7-0 deficit in the fifth inning of Sunday's series finale with 19 unanswered runs to sweep the Eagles and move into a tie for first place in the South Atlantic Conference standings. Every Railsplitter starter recorded at least one hit for the second straight game as the team set a new season high with 21. Augustine hit his first career grand slam in the fifth to jump start Lincoln Memorial's nine-run rally, and Muta Crusoe (Bellwood, Ill.) launched a two-run homer later in the inning to put the Railsplitters ahead for good at 9-7. Tyler Adams (Woodstock, Ga.) went 4-for-4 with three RBI, while four more Railsplitters added three hits apiece. Augustine reached base four times, going 3-for-5 with the grand slam and scored four runs. Timmy Wages (Molin, Ill.) also reached base four times and drove in five runs. Chase Randolph (Harriman, Tenn.) picked up the win in relief as he held Carson-Newman scoreless over 4.1 innings of work.
 
- Augustine went 7-for-13 in the Carson-Newman series with six RBI and five runs scored to remain in a tie for second nationally with 53 runs scored. He is seventh in the SAC in batting average (.384), fourth in home runs (10), third in slugging percentage (.725) and fourth in on-base percentage (.497). Augustine's 10 stolen bases also lead the team.

- Since beginning the year batting just .118 through his first eight games with a plate appearance, Hunt has hit .394, including a 6-for-6 performance March 11 at Lenoir-Rhyne to set a new program record for hits in a game.

- Wages took over the team lead in RBI with 42 after a six-RBI weekend, including five Sunday. Of those, 26 have come in 18 conference games. He was hit by a pitch Saturday for the 19^th time, which ranks second nationally. This has aided his .519 on-base percentage, which is the second-best mark in the SAC.

- Adams went 7-for-10 over the weekend to raise his batting average to .348 overall. His .397 average in SAC play is second on the team behind Augustine, and the freshman has 21 RBI in 17 conference games. Over his past 11 games, he is 18-for-40 with 15 RBI.

- Lincoln Memorial has scored in the first inning 20 times in 38 games. Despite outscoring opponents 43-21 in the inning thus far, the Railsplitters are just 9-11 in games they have scored in the first. The team has a 12-11 record when scoring the game's first run.
 
Notes on the Tornado:

- J.P. Castaneda went 3-for-4 in the March 29 contest with a pair of RBI and runs scored. Bubba Ritz went 2-for-5 with a two-run double, and Zak Kitzmiller went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

- The Tornado dropped two of three to North Greenville in Bristol over the weekend. North Greenville jumped ahead early and took game one of Saturday's doubleheader 9-2. Nicolas Keister had two of King's six hits and drove in both runs on a double in the bottom of the ninth to prevent the shutout.

- King scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh of game two to come away with a 3-2 walk-off victory. Dylan Sligh singled in the tying run, and the next batter, Ryan Sattz, walked off the Tornado with a pinch-hit single. Austin Dayton was the only King player to record multiple hits and went 2-for-3 with a solo home run.

- North Greenville jumped ahead 8-0 in Sunday's rubber match and cruised to the 14-3 victory. Preston Douglas went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles for King, while Keister added two more base knocks. Dayton connected for another solo home run.

- The King pitching staff had pitched better of late before the North Greenville series but still holds a 5.66 ERA for the year. Mark Hendricks' 4.76 ERA is the best amongst starting pitchers. Brandon Barbour leads Tornado relievers with a 2.65 ERA in 17 innings.

- J.P. Castaneda leads Tornado hitters in average (.345), hits (43) and and doubles (7).

- King has only hit 18 home runs in 37 games. Dayton took over the team lead with four after hitting two over the weekend. Sligh and Tyler Bailey are next at three apiece.

- Bailey has swiped 12 bags for the Tornado and Braden Cook has 11.
 
Series History:

- The Railsplitters lead the all-time series 23-20-1 and are 17-9 in Harrogate.

- The one tie came February 19, 2014. The game was called after 10 innings due to darkness with the teams tied 6-6.

- Although Lincoln Memorial leads the all-time series, King has won 19 of the past 26 matchups dating back to 2002.

- Lincoln Memorial won 17 of the teams' first 18 meetings from 1994-2002.