HARROGATE, Tenn. – Lincoln Memorial (27-16, 13-5 SAC) closed out Lamar Hennon Field with 16-10 and 11-8 victories over Newberry (28-18, 13-8 SAC) to sweep the series and remain in a tie with Catawba atop the South Atlantic Conference standings. The Railsplitters extended their win streak to eight with the victory and have won 13 of their past 15 games overall. The team has also won 12 of 14 conference matchups, including series wins over the other top teams in the conference in Catawba, Tusculum and Newberry.

Russell Clark (Wexford, Pa.), Cody Hinson (Molin, Ill.), Timmy Wages (Molin, Ill.), Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Brandon Jean (Franklin, Tenn.) were honored in a pregame senior day ceremony. The trio of Clark, Wages and Kalman enjoyed big days in their final home games as members of Lincoln Memorial University.

Clark hit a pair of three-run home runs and drove in a career-high seven runs to lead the Railslitters in game one's 16-10 win. Tyler Adams (Woodstock, Ga.) connected for a pair of solo shots and reached base in all five at-bats in a 4-for-4, four-RBI afternoon. Seth Hunt (Knoxville, Tenn.) added four singles and a pair of runs. Four other Railsplitters also recorded at least two hits, including Wages and Kalman.

Wages and Kalman starred offensively in the final game played at Lamar Hennon Field, an 11-8 victory. Wages blasted a two-run shot and picked up the win in relief. Kalman laced a three-run double to provide the Railsplitters with three crucial insurance runs that proved to be the difference. Each player drove in four runs apiece in the game.

The Railsplitters control their own destiny atop the SAC standings heading into next weekend's regular season finale at Anderson, but the team will first travel to Nashville Tuesday for a tune-up against Trevecca Nazarene.
 
Game One: Lincoln Memorial 16, Newberry 10

Both teams combined for 26 runs and 37 hits in a contest that lasted just shy of four hours. Nine runs and 10 of those hits came in the first inning. The Railsplitters tied a season high with 21 base knocks.

Ben Herring and Zach White homered for the Wolves, which marked the first time since March 12, 2016 the team saw more than one player go deep in the same game. Newberry's seven extra-base hits were also a season high. Herring finished 3-for-5 and drove in a team-high three runs. Jeff Sneed also went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles. Daymon Totherow doubled, tripled and stole a base as part of a 2-for-5 afternoon.

Newberry jumped ahead right out of the gate off Railsplitter starter Ethan Elliott (Knoxville, Tenn.) with a four-run first inning. Trejon Smith started the two-out rally with an RBI single. Herring followed with a three-run homer.

Lincoln Memorial answered right back with five runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Clark belted his first three-run homer shot to cut the deficit to 4-3. The next three batters all laced singles to set up Adams' bases-loaded walk to tie the score. Another run came in on a Nate Stinson (Jonesboro, Ga.) RBI groundout.

The Wolves tied the game in the second on a Danton Hyman single and took a 6-5 lead two innings later on an RBI groundout.

The Railsplitters re-took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Adams' first solo shot to lead off the inning tied the game. Stinson followed with a single and later scored on a wild pitch.

Adams also homered to lead off the sixth and later singled in a run in Lincoln Memorial's six-run sixth. Clark also blasted his second three-run shot in the inning. Muta Crusoe (Bellwood, Ill.) also added an RBI single as the Railsplitters took a 13-6 lead.

Newberry cut the score to 13-9 in the seventh on Sneed's RBI double and White's pinch-hit two-run homer. The Railsplitters got two of those runs back in the bottom of the inning on RBI singles by Clark and Kalman.

The teams traded runs in the eighth as Totherow doubled in a run and Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) singled in another.
 
Game Two: Lincoln Memorial 11, Newberry 8

Newberry starter Tristan Smaltz entered the game with a sparkling 0.77 ERA with only two earned runs allowed but gave up three in the top of the first. Clark walked with the bases loaded to bring home the first run. Wages then brought in a run on a fielder's choice, and Kalman hit a sac fly to score the third.

Wages's two-run blast in the third put the Railsplitters up 5-0.

The Wolves started their comeback with two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth to tie the game at five. Derek Olenchk drove in runs on a single and groundout.

Trejon Smith added an RBI single, and Hyman drove in two more with another single.

Wages broke the tie in the fifth with an RBI single, but Newberry took the lead in the top of the sixth on Robert Kosch's squeeze bunt and Hyman's double.

Augustine tied the game in the bottom half on an RBI single, and a throwing error by Kosch later in the inning allowed the go-ahead run to score. Kalman came up two batters later with the bases loaded and lined a double into the gap in left center to clear the bases and give the Railsplitters an 11-7 lead.

Newberry scored in the seventh on a sac fly, but Wages got the final three outs to secure the win. He entered in the sixth and earned the win to improve to 5-1.