CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitters were unable to generate much offense and suffered a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Lee Flames on Thursday afternoon in Cleveland, Tenn.
Lincoln Memorial (1-3) struggled mightily against the Lee pitching staff, which combined to allow just eight hits and four runs while racking up 17 strikeouts over the two games. By contrast, the Flames' (4-3) offensive attack piled up 17 hits, 13 runs and drew 14 walks.
The Lady Railsplitters return to action on Saturday when they open the new Dorothy Neely Field with a doubleheader against Milligan. Weather permitting, first pitch in game one is set for 1 p.m.
Game One: Lee 4, Lincoln Memorial 3 (8 innings)
The Lady Railsplitters took the early lead in a back-and-forth contest as
Ty-Kella Goins led off with a single and scored on a two-out knock from
Emma Webb in the top of the first.
The Flames answered right back and took the lead in the bottom of that inning, though, as Stevie Baird was hit by a pitch and Brooklynn Frazier singled to put two runners on for Taylor Moran, who drove both runners home with a double into the gap in right center.
Lee maintained that 2-1 edge until
Ashlea Hunter connected on her first home run of the season with two outs in the top of the fourth to knot things up.
The Flames nearly regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth after Abby McKinney put herself in scoring position with a one-out double. McKinney was waved home on a single by Moran in the very next at-bat but right fielder
Teddi Collins gunned McKinney down at the plate to keep the score tied.
The Lady Railsplitters then briefly retook the lead in the top of the sixth when
Allie Jones led off with her first homer of the season, but Maddie Davenport provided the rebuttal in the bottom of that inning with a two-out solo shot.
The Flames threatened to win the game in the bottom of the seventh with runners on second and third following a single and a double. However,
Brianna Taylor worked out of the jam by inducing a groundout to send the game to extra innings.
A base running blunder might have ultimately cost the Lady Railsplitters in the top of the eighth as
Grace Cochran got caught in a rundown before Webb ground out to end the inning.
The Flames then won the game in walk-off fashion, as Zoe Miller came scampering home on a suicide squeeze and just beat the throw to the plate.
Jones paced the Lady Railsplitters with a 2-for-4 performance that included that home run. She was the only LMU player with multiple hits in the contest.
Taylor was pegged with the loss after allowing seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts over 7.1 innings of work. The senior righty slipped to 1-1 on the season in defeat.
Moran and McKinney combined to go 5-for-7 with two RBI and a walk for the Flames. McKinney also tossed 7.1 innings in the circle, allowing just four hits and three earned runs with seven strikeouts. Leigh Beatenbough picked up the win by recording the final two outs in the top of the eighth.
Game Two: Lee 9, Lincoln Memorial 1 (6 innings)
Lee starter Erika Greek baffled the Lady Railsplitters to help the Flames complete the sweep. Greek struck out 11 and relinquished just three hits and one run in the complete game.
On Lincoln Memorial's side,
Justice Smith and
Madison Shields – making her first career appearance – endured shaky performances in the circle. Smith was handed the loss after giving up eight hits and seven runs while walking seven over five innings. Shields walked three and gave up two runs in her 0.2 innings of action.
Goins, Webb and Collins accounted for the only hits for the Lady Railsplitters. Webb drove in the lone run of the game for the visitors with a RBI double in the top of the third.
Webb's hit tied the contest at 1-1, but the Flames proceeded to score eight unanswered runs after that to end the game early.
Lee broke things open in the bottom of the fourth, tallying five runs on a two-run double by Baird and a three-run bomb from McKinney.
The Flames added a run in the fifth on an RBI fielder's choice by Baird, while a two-run double from Beatenbough brought the game to an end in the bottom of the sixth.
Seven different players had at least one hit for the Flames, led by Kayla Gooch's 3-for-3 effort. Kayla Louie went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Quick Hits
- Thursday marked the first meeting between Lincoln Memorial and Lee in 23 seasons.
- Webb has now hit successfully in all four games this season. The freshman has a double and three RBI on her season ledger so far.
- The Lady Railsplitters' 11 strikeouts in game two were their most since fanning 13 times against Lander on February 27, 2016.
