KODAK, Tenn. -- Second-seeded Lincoln Memorial (30-17) continued its hot-hitting ways as it knocked off fifth-seeded Tusculum (28-19) 11-7 on day one of the 2017 Pilot/Flying J South Atlantic Conference Baseball Championship at Smokies Stadium. The Railsplitters will next play Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against the winner of Friday night's matchup between third-seeded Newberry and fourth-seeded Mars Hill.



With the win, the Railsplitters snapped a six-game losing streak in the SAC Championship and achieved a 30-win season for the first time since 2009.

The Railsplitters scored double-digit runs for ninth time in 10 games with their 11-run effort. The team has also racked up at least 11 hits in 10 of its past 12 after scattering 14 Friday.

Timmy Wages (Molin, Ill.) homered as part of a 3-for-3, three-RBI performance and was a triple shy of a cycle. The SAC leader in on-base percentage reached base safely in all five plate appearances and scored four times.

Eric Kalman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) went 2-for-4 and also drove in three runs. Muta Crusoe (Bellwood, Ill.) went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and RBI.

Brandon Jean (Franklin, Tenn.) won his seventh straight decision, including his second victory of the year over Tusculum, to improve to 8-3. The righty allowed 14 base runners—eight hits, five walks and a hit batter—but did a great job limiting damage as he only allowed three runs (two earned) in seven innings. He also struck out four.

The Railsplitters have won eight straight Jean starts and 10 of his past 11.

Jeremy Glore went 3-for-4 and scored a pair of runs for the Pioneers. Edison Cabrera reached base three times and drove in a pair of runs. Nick Lacina and Daulton Martin each went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

Christian Raasch defeated the Railsplitters in his start April 1 but did not fare as well this time around, allowing three runs in just two innings of work. He allowed three hits and did not walk or strike out anyone but did hit a batter.

The Pioneers struck early with a run in each of the first two innings. Glore led off the game by taking an 0-2 Jean pitch up the middle for a base hit. He was then bunted over and scored two batters later on Bradley Evans' single through the middle. Following Lincoln Memorial's 1-2-3 effort in the bottom half of the inning, Key homered to right to put the Pioneers up 2-0.

Of Tusculum's 14 hits on the evening, Key's solo home run was the only one to go for extra bases.

The Railsplitters used a three-run bottom half of the second to go ahead for good. Russell Clark (Wexford, Pa.), Wages and Kalman led off the inning with singles. Kalman's base knock plated Lincoln Memorial's first run, and Tyler Adams (Woodstock, Ga.) hit into a fielder's choice to score Wages two batters later. Nate Stinson (Jonesboro, Ga.) hit a sac fly to center to put the Railsplitters up 3-2.

Lincoln Memorial added two more runs in the third on a Kalman single and Crusoe double. Wages homered in the fifth to put the Railsplitters up 6-2.

The Railsplitters opened the sixth inning with four consecutive walks, and all four came around to score in the team's five-run inning. Wages broke the string of free passes with a two-run double down the left field line. Kalman then hit a sac fly to bring in another run, and Crusoe followed with an RBI double.

Tusculum pushed across an unearned run with a bases-loaded walk in the seventh and scored four more times in the eighth. The Pioneers hit six singles in the inning—four of which drove in runs.

The Pioneers would not get any closer as the team went 1-2-3 in the ninth on three groundouts.