HARROGATE, Tenn. – Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) crushed the first pitch he saw in the top of the tenth over Lamar Hennon Field's scoreboard in right center to power Lincoln Memorial to a 10-9 victory over King in the continuation from the suspended March 29 meeting, and the Railsplitters (24-16, 13-5 SAC) used a team effort offensively to crush the Tornado (17-23, 7-14 Conference Carolinas) 15-0 in the originally scheduled game.
With the wins, Lincoln Memorial has won 10 of its last 12 games overall. The 15-0 win was also the team's largest margin of victory over King since 2007.
The Railsplitters scattered 17 hits, which marks the fourth straight game the team has put up double digit hit totals.
Seth Hunt (Knoxville, Tenn.) and
Dalton Dedas (Louisville, Ky.) recorded three hits apiece, while
Mason Ewers (Kingsport, Tenn.),
Russell Clark (Wexford, Pa.),
Timmy Wages (Molin, Ill.) and
Tyler Adams (Woodstock, Ga.) each added two more base knocks. Every starting position player scored at least one run, and everyone but
Muta Crusoe (Bellwood, Ill.) had at least on hit.
Wages belted a three-run homer in the first to open the scoring and added an RBI double in his next at-bat as part of a 2-for-3, five-RBI afternoon. He was also the winning pitcher in the continuation game after tossing 1.1 innings March 29 and staying in to record the final three outs.
Adams lined a two-run shot down the left field line that just stayed fair in the third and drove in three runs total. The freshman has four three-RBI performances in his past seven games and has batted .583 over that span.
Derek Trainor-Fogleman (Gaithersburg, Md.),
Matt Mullenbach (Urbandale, Iowa) and
Jake Watkins (Powder Springs, Ga.) combined for Lincoln Memorial's first shutout of the season. Trainor-Fogleman earned the win with 3.1 scoreless innings. Mullenbach entered in the fourth and worked out of a bases-loaded jam as part of 1.2 perfect innings.
Ryan Sattz was the only King player to record multiple hits with a 2-for-3 effort. All five of the team's hits were singles. The Tornado could not cash in on bases-loaded opportunities with just one out in both the third and fourth innings and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Lincoln Memorial plated three runs in the first and four in the third before exploding for eight more in the fourth. The Railsplitters strung together six consecutive hits in the inning, and Clark doubled twice in the frame.
The Railsplitters play their final games at Lamar Hennon Field Friday and Saturday against Newberry. The Wolves have won eight straight SAC games and share a four-way tie with Lincoln Memorial, Catawba and Tusculum for first place in the conference.
