HARROGATE, Tenn. – Winners of 10 of its last 11 games, the Lincoln Memorial softball team is set for a four-game weekend that begins with a nonconference doubleheader against Midway on Friday at Dorothy Neely Field and ends with a South Atlantic Conference twinbill at No. 11 Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday.
 
The Lady Railsplitters (16-8) had their 10-game winning streak snapped in a 10-6 loss in game one but bounced back with a come-from-behind 8-7 extra-innings win in game two against Catawba in the SAC-opening doubleheader last Sunday.
 
Midway (8-11) – a member of the NAIA and Mid-South Conference – will be returning to action for the first time since sweeping a doubleheader against Brescia University on March 16 by scores of 10-2 and 10-6.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne (25-4) is one of the hottest teams in the nation as the Bears have reeled off 15 consecutive wins since their last loss on February 21. L-R opened SAC play last Sunday with 5-0 and 3-1 triumphs at Tusculum.
 
Schedule / Game Day Links:
 
Friday, March 23 vs. Midway
Game One (3pm) – Live Stats
Game Two (5pm) – Live Stats
 
Saturday, March 24 at Lenoir-Rhyne
Game One (2pm)
Game Two (4pm)
 
Quick Hits:
 
- The Lady Railsplitters fell behind 8-0 in the top of the first inning in game one against Catawba as the Indians brought 13 hitters to the plate thanks to seven hits and three errors. Lincoln Memorial rallied back to close the gap to 8-5 but the Indians scored a pair of insurance runs to finish the win. Ty-Kella Goins went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored to account for nearly half of the team's offensive production.
 
- Catawba once again jumped out to a big lead in game two by scoring five runs through the first two innings. The Lady Railsplitters fought back to tie it up at 5-5 before the two teams traded runs in the sixth to send the game to extra innings. Trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Kelsie Hocutt delivered a two-run, walk-off home run to help the Lady Railsplitters salvage the split with an 8-7 triumph.
 
- Hocutt went 3-for-8 with three RBI and two runs scored in the doubleheader against Catawba to retain the top batting average on the team with a .413 clip. The junior first baseman is tied for the team lead with 22 RBI and has hit seven home runs, which ranks second in the SAC.
 
- Hocutt is one of four LMU players batting over .340 this season. Goins is hitting .388 with a team-best 31 hits, seven doubles and 28 runs. Emma Webb is batting .385 and is tied with Hocutt for the team lead in RBI with 22. Allie Jones is hitting .343 with seven doubles and 18 RBI.
 
- Senior Brianna Taylor aims to bounce back from her worst outing of the season as the righty allowed a season-high 15 hits and four earned runs in the 10-6 loss to Catawba. Despite that, Taylor has a stingy 1.76 ERA and .233 batting average against.
 
- Lincoln Memorial has been battering the ball in March. After hitting just .261 and slugging .396 through the first month of the season, the Lady Railsplitters are hitting .358 with a .538 slugging percentage in March. Goins has been one of the biggest proponents of that turnaround as the sophomore leadoff hitter is batting .485 in March.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are 4-2 at Dorothy Neely Field this season. The team is batting .335 at home compared to .286 on the road.
 
Notes on Midway:
 
- The Eagles have had 14 games cancelled by weather this season, including a doubleheader against Union that was scheduled for Wednesday. Midway wasn't able to play its first games until February 27 as the first 10 were cancelled.
 
- In their 10-2 five-inning win in game one against Brescia, the Eagles scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning and cruised to victory. Dee Lewis went 2-for-2 with three RBI and a home run to lead the way offensively while Hannah Poynter allowed just five hits and struck out three in the complete game.
 
- A four-run second inning and a five-run fourth inning propelled Midway to a 10-6 win in the nightcap to complete the sweep of Brescia. Marissa Walker and Alyssa Yates each homered, while Yates also tossed a complete game with one earned run allowed, a strikeout and no walks.
 
- As a team, Midway is batting .276, slugging .392 and reaching base at a .343 clip. Opponents are hitting .317 against the Eagles with a .475 slugging percentage.
 
- Four Eagles have double-digit RBI. Lewis leads the team with 15 RBI and a .390 batting average. Kelsey Gravens has 13 RBI with a .345 clip. Carly Benz and Lynsie Clark have driven in 11 runs apiece. Benz leads that duo with a .333 batting average in a team-high 63 at-bats.
 
- Midway has committed 46 errors in 19 games this season. Aliyah Johnson leads the team with 12 while Kendall Horn has eight miscues.
 
- Poynter and Yates have thrown 114 of the team's 124 innings this season. Poynter is 3-4 with a 2.67 ERA and 29 strikeouts over 63.0 innings, while Yates is 4-4 with a 4.53 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 51.0 innings. As a whole, the Midway pitching staff has struck out just 77 batters in 124 innings.
 
Notes on Lenoir-Rhyne:
 
- The Bears have been absolutely dominant in winning 25 of their first 29 games this season, outscoring their opponents 172-50 while hitting .326 and holding opponents to a meager .220 clip. Lenoir-Rhyne has allowed just 16 runs total during its 15-game winning streak. Over that same span, the Bears have racked up at least eight runs eight times.
 
- L-R is 12-0 at home this season. The Bears are hitting .374 and slugging .557 in Hickory.
 
- Seven every day players are hitting above .300 for the Bears. Erin Boone is leading that contingent with a .442 average, nine doubles, four home runs, 18 RBI and 19 walks. Madison Carter and Madison Poe are second on the team with 33 hits. Carter is batting .351 with seven doubles and 16 RBI, while Poe has hit .327 with six extra-base knocks. Savannah Moorefield, Mackenzie Cates, Talon Laclair and Kylee Leonhardt are also above the .300 mark.
 
- The Lenoir-Rhyne pitching staff leads the SAC in earned run average with a 1.31 clip. Emily Kenley and Brandi Parks have made 14 starts apiece. Kenley is 13-1 with a 0.95 ERA and 68 strikeouts over 96.0 innings of work, while Parks is 11-3 with a 1.69 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 82.2 innings.
 
- Since starting 2-3, the Bears have won 23 of their last 24 games. Over the course of the entire season, Lenoir-Rhyne has not allowed more than six runs in any game.
 
- The Bears lead the conference in hits and rank second in runs as the team has averaged nine hits and 5.9 runs per game.
 
Series History:
 
- Friday will serve as the first-ever meeting between Lincoln Memorial and Midway.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are a miserable 3-24 all-time against Lenoir-Rhyne, which has won the last seven games in the series. Lincoln Memorial dropped last season's doubleheader in Harrogate by scores of 7-5 and 8-6. The Bears have not lost to the Lady Railsplitters since a 3-1 setback on April 5, 2014.