HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University baseball team split Sunday's doubleheader at Lamar Hennon Field with South Atlantic Conference rival Carson-Newman (11-10, 5-4 SAC) but still won the series on a pair of come-from-behind, walk-off victories.
Timmy Wages walked off the Railsplitters to a 12-11 win in game one after LMU fell behind 10-1 in the seventh inning. LMU fell 8-4 in the seven-inning nightcap.
The Railsplitters continue their 11-game homestand Tuesday with a nonconference matchup against Lee.
Game One: Lincoln Memorial 12, Carson-Newman 11
The Railsplitters extended their win streak to 10 over the Eagles and walked off Carson-Newman for the second straight game after
Dalton Dedas delivered the winning hit Friday.
LMU outhit Carson-Newman 18-13.
Justin Shaw made his first start of the season and finished 4-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and RBI.
Logan Augustine went 3-for-3 with a walk and two RBI.
Joe Stucky also notched three hits while Wages went 2-for-6 with three RBI, including the game winner.
John Sharpe led Carson-Newman with three hits and four RBI. Brett Langhorne doubled and scored twice. Three other Eagles finished with two hits apiece.
Langhorne got the scoring started with a leadoff double in the top of the first inning and came around on a Cade Snapp sacrifice fly. Stucky's single up the middle brought in
Tyler Adams, who had reached on an error, for Lincoln Memorial's first run.
Sharpe's single in the fifth following Langhorne's second double put the Eagles up 2-1.
The visitors' lead ballooned to 10-1 with an eight-run seventh inning. All eight runs scored with two outs, and all were unearned. Sharpe's bases-clearing double drove in three runs to begin a stretch of seven straight Eagles to reach base with two out. In total, the Eagles sent 13 batters to the plate while LMU used four pitchers.
Joe Bobiak toed the rubber for the Railsplitters and allowed four runs—two earned—in 6.1 innings. The lefty gave up seven hits and two walks and struck out four in a no-decision.
Augustine delivered a sac fly to cut the score to 10-2 in the bottom of the seventh.
Kyle Cagle cruised through the first six innings before allowing the run on two hits in the seventh. He lasted six-plus innings and allowed two runs—one earned—on nine hits. The lefty struck out two and didn't walk anyone. Three Carson-Newman relievers combined to allow 10 earned runs and nine hits over the final two-plus innings.
Shaw's two-run double the next inning kickstarted LMU's nine-run outburst to take the lead.
Will Reddick singled in two more runs, and Augustine followed with a single up the middle to drive in another run. Wages tripled in two more, and
Chris Salvey doubled him in to tie the game at 10. The go-ahead run crossed on a passed ball.
The Eagles tied the score at 11 on a Jordan Griffin sac fly in the top of the ninth.
Shaw led off the bottom of the ninth with an infield single. Reddick and Augustine later walked to load the bases with one out. Wages laced a 2-2 pitch through the right side on the ninth pitch of his at-bat to deliver the walk-off hit.
Jake Grenus improved to 3-0 while Will Gardner took the loss for the second straight game to fall to 1-4.
Game Two: Carson-Newman 8, Lincoln Memorial 4
The Railsplitter bats were held mostly in check in the series finale.
Joe Stucky went 3-for-3, but the rest of the LMU lineup was held to just four hits. Carson-Newman outhit the Railsplitters 12-7, and LMU went hitless (0-for-7) with runners in scoring position.
Salvey and Dedas each hit two-run home runs to left in the second inning to account for the team's scoring output.
Langhorne tripled to lead off the game and scored on a sac fly to again give the Eagles a quick 1-0 lead. Carson-Newman added four more runs in the second. Micah Genter delivered the big blow with a two-run double. Runs also crossed on a fielding error and sac fly.
Dominic Morabito failed to make it out of the second and allowed five runs—four earned—in 1.1 innings. He took the loss to fall to 1-3.
The pair of two-run homers pulled LMU back to within one run at 5-4.
Dalton Long allowed all four earned runs in six-plus innings pitched and improved to 2-1.
Carson-Newman scored its final three runs in the top of the sixth. Langhorne launched a two-run homer to right, and another run crossed on a passed ball.
The win snapped Carson-Newman's 10-game losing streak to LMU.
