MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – Coming off its best regular season finish in program history that was capped off by a dominating run through the South Atlantic Conference tournament, Lincoln Memorial (33-17) will make its second ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional. The seventh-seeded Railsplitters will face off against second-seeded North Georgia (42-10) in Thursday's opening round of the double-elimination tournament at 3 p.m. at Scarborough Field on the campus of the University of Mount Olive. The Nighthawks, who are ranked sixth nationally, were the Peach Belt regular season champions but fell to Georgia College in the championship game of the conference tournament.
 
Thursday's matchup will feature two of the highest-scoring teams in the nation. North Georgia ranked first nationally with 487 runs scored and is also in the top 10 in hits, home runs, on-base percentage and doubles. Lincoln Memorial is one of the hottest teams in the nation after outscoring opponents 43-17 in the SAC tournament and has scored at least nine runs in 11 or its past 12 games. The Railsplitters' 434 total runs scored are the 10th-best mark in the nation.
 
North Georgia is no slouch on the mound either as its 3.35 ERA is the 14^th-best mark in the country. The Nighthawks are also elite defensively with a .975 fielding percentage, which ranks seventh. The team's 42 wins are its highest total as a member of the NCAA.
 
"They're good in every phase," head baseball coach Jeff Sziksai said. "We know we'll have to play clean, hard baseball."
 
The opening-round matchup will be the first ever meeting between these two teams.
 
Lincoln Memorial has had a 17-day layoff since defeating Carson-Newman in the SAC Championship game May 1. North Georgia last played May 12.
 
"It's a unique situation for us," Sziksai said. "There's always a two to three week waiting period after our conference tournament. There's a delicate balance between not letting things get dull and keeping sharp. I'm sure our guys want to see another face after intrasquadding and practicing these past couple of weeks."
 
Lincoln Memorial also traveled to Mount Olive for its only other Southeast Regional appearance in 2013. That team bowed out after losses to Mount Olive and Georgia College. Both of those teams are back this year as well. Top-seeded Mount Olive is hosting and is ranked No. 1 in the country. Georgia College defeated North Georgia in the Peach Belt championship and earned the region's sixth seed.
 
"I think the main difference between the two clubs is performance in the regular season," Sziksai said. "The 2013 team will always be very, very special to me for making history. The bottom line was our regular season was average. Our season as a whole in 2013 wasn't nearly as good. It was our first time going into the regional, and I didn't really know what to expect. This year we played good baseball, especially down the stretch."
 
Since starting the year 1-7, the Railsplitters are 32-10. The team's 33 wins is its highest total in Sziksai's 14-year tenure as head coach. Lincoln Memorial's second-place regular-season SAC finish was the best in program history.
 
"I remember distinctly down at Florida Tech we had just been swept the second weekend in a row to start the season, and we didn't play well in the third game," Sziksai said. "That kind of start forces you to look in the mirror. I never had to coach effort. They bought into getting better. That 100 percent has to do with the makeup of our players."
 
The team's dominating run through the SAC championship was highlighted by senior Timmy Wages (Molin, Ill.), who earned the tournament's MVP award by hitting 7-for-15 over the four games. He tallied six RBI, two doubles, a home run, three walks and six runs scored. The senior was especially dominant in the team's 11-7 win over Tusculum, as he reached base in all five plate appearances and finished a triple shy of the cycle with three RBI and four runs scored. Wages has been a force in the middle of the Railsplitter lineup all season, and his 63 RBI are tied for the program record.
 
Logan Augustine (Urbandale, Iowa) finished 6-for-14 in the tournament with six RBI, two homers, five walks and seven runs scored. That sizzling four-game stretch was highlighted by a 4-for-4 effort against Newberry in which the junior tallied six RBI, two homers, a double and three runs scored. Augustine scored a run in all four games of the SAC tournament to break the program's single-season record of 67, which had stood since the 1996 season. The junior leads the team in most offensive categories, including average, hits, home runs and stolen bases.
 
Senior Brandon Jean (Franklin, Tenn.) emerged as the team's ace and is expected to take the mound Thursday. Lincoln Memorial won 10 of the senior's final 11 starts, including his final eight. Jean is 7-0 in his past eight starts and developed a penchant for outdueling some of the conference's top pitchers, as he picked up the win in starts against all three All-SAC First-Team pitchers. He held Tusculum to two earned runs in seven inning of work in his most recent start April 28.
 
Ethan Elliott (Knoxville, Tenn.), who went 10-2 in 2016 and won SAC Freshman of the Year, took a bit of a step back this season but is coming off his best start of 2017. The lefty fired a complete game, two-hit shutout and struck out a season-high 10 against Newberry April 29. The Railsplitters have won seven of his past nine starts.
 
"I said in the fall this would be one of our most well-led teams," Sziksai said. "That turned out to be true. I think that's what allowed us to really improve and get better."
 
Lincoln Memorial enters the seven-team Southeast regional as one of two unranked teams and the only one not to receive votes in the latest rankings. In addition to No. 1 Mount Olive and No. 6 North Georgia, third-seeded USC Aiken is No. 17, fourth-seeded Catawba is No. 30, and fifth-seeded UNC Pembroke is No. 28. Sixth-seeded Georgia College is receiving votes.
 
"Our guys are competitive, and they wouldn't want to have it any other way—they want to earn their way," Sziksai said.
 
The winner of Thursday's game will move on to face the winner of the Georgia College-USC Aiken matchup, while the two losing teams will play each other in an elimination game. Both potential games take place Friday.
 
The winner of the regional will advance to the championship finals May 27-June 3 in Grand Prairie, Texas. 
 
"Baseball is complex, but winning baseball is simple." Sziksai said. "You have to make routine plays, throw strikes and get timely hits. It's so cliché but so true. Whichever team does those three phases is usually going to win. That's what we've been able to do this year, and that's what we will have to continue to do."