HARROGATE, Tenn. – With wins in 13 of their last 14 games, the Lady Railsplitters look to stay hot when they conclude a 10-game homestand with midweek matchups against Carson-Newman and King on Tuesday and Wednesday at Dorothy Neely Field.
 
Lincoln Memorial (18-8, 1-1 SAC) swept a doubleheader from Midway on Friday in Harrogate in its most recent outing, winning both games in run-rule fashion. The Lady Railsplitters fell behind in game one but scored nine unanswered runs to beat the Eagles 9-1 in six innings. LMU wrapped up the sweep with an 8-0 six-inning thumping in the nightcap.
 
Carson-Newman (20-10, 2-4 SAC) halted a three-game losing streak on Sunday by splitting a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader against No. 21 Queens. The Eagles won game one 3-1 before falling in game two 7-1. King (15-13) swept a doubleheader from Milligan on Sunday – winning by scores of 9-4 and 5-3 – to move to 4-1 in its last five games.
 
Schedule / Game Day Links:
 
Tuesday, March 27 vs. Carson-Newman (3pm) – Live Stats
Tuesday, March 27 vs. Carson-Newman (5pm) – Live Stats
Wednesday, March 28 vs. King (1pm) – Live Stats
Wednesday, March 28 vs. King (3pm) – Live Stats
 
Quick Hits:
 
- The Lady Railsplitters belted three home runs to power their 9-1 win over Midway in game one. Teddi Collins hit her first and second homers of the season while Ashlea Hunter hammered a three-run job. Kelsie Hocutt also added two hits and two RBI in the victory. Brianna Taylor went the distance and allowed just five hits with five strikeouts to move to 8-5 on the season.
 
- Grace Cochran and Allie Jones drove in three runs apiece and combined to go 5-for-9 at the plate to lead the Lady Railsplitters in the 8-0 win over Midway in game two. Kaitlyn Walker chipped in a pair of hits, while Justice Smith tied a career-high mark with 10 strikeouts to pick up her 10th win of the season.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are ranked third in the SAC with 21 homers this season and have the league's fourth-best slugging percentage with a .475 mark. Hocutt is second in the SAC with seven dingers, while Audrey Petoskey has hit four. Collins, Hunter and Jacie Pittman have two apiece.
 
- Lincoln Memorial's 2.57 earned run average ranks fourth in the conference, though the team is eighth in the league with a .261 batting average against. Taylor has been mostly brilliant all season with a 1.61 ERA, while Smith is carrying a 3.60 ERA. That duo has pitched 159 of a possible 160.2 frames for the Lady Railsplitters this season.
 
- Hocutt and Ty-Kella Goins are leading the charge offensively. Hocutt is batting .439 with five doubles, seven homers and a team-high 24 RBI, while Goins is hitting .393 with eight doubles and a team-best three stolen bases. Emma Webb (.346) and Jones (.360) are also hitting well above the .300 this season.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters have been absurd at the plate at Dorothy Neely Field, where the team is batting .350, slugging .525 and reaching base at a .427 clip. Lincoln Memorial is averaging eight runs per game on its home field this season.
 
Notes on Carson-Newman:
 
- Since reeling off eight straight wins with four run-rule victories from February 27-March 17, the Eagles have dropped four of their last five games, including a sweep at Anderson in which the team allowed 22 runs. Carson-Newman also gave up 11 runs in a loss to Newberry that ended that eight-game winning streak.
 
- The Eagles are ranked in the lower half of the SAC in batting average (.301), on-base percentage (.378) and slugging percentage (.423) but rank third in the league in earned run average (2.51) and batting average against (.224). However, in SAC play Carson-Newman has a league-worst 6.10 ERA and .325 batting average against.
 
- Sophomore pitcher Lacie Rinus has regressed just a bit from her magnificent All-American freshman season, but the lefty has still been utterly dominant. Rinus is 12-6 this season with 13 complete games, a 1.79 ERA and 113 strikeouts over 121 innings of work. Aside from Rinus, freshman Morgan Crawford in the only other Eagle with more than three appearances in the circle, as Crawford is 8-4 with a 3.58 ERA.
 
- Rinus has also been arguably the Eagles' most productive offensive player as she leads the team with 43 hits, 11 doubles and a .457 batting average. Abby Fiessinger is hitting .377 with five doubles, two bombs and 15 RBI, while Haley Caldwell leads the team with six homers and 24 RBI. Katie Pritchett (.362, 2 HR) and Taylor Scott (.231, 3 2B) have also been solid contributors.
 
- Carson-Newman is the SAC's top defensive club at the moment. The Eagles have a league-best .973 fielding percentage and have committed just 24 errors across 30 games.
 
- The Eagles have struck out the second-fewest times in the SAC with 103 or less than 3.5 per game. Fiessinger has struck out just twice in a team-leading 106 at-bats.
 
Notes on King:
 
- The Tornado are in fifth place in the Conference Carolinas standings.
 
- King is one of the better hitting teams in its league, ranking third in Conference Carolinas in batting average (.297), on-base percentage (.381) and slugging percentage (.421). The Tornado are average in the circle with a 3.65 team ERA and .299 batting average against.
 
- Four every day players are hitting over .300 for the Tornado: Katelyn Davidson (.304, 7 2B, 11 RBI, 4 steals), Hannah Riddle (.413, 9 2B, 7 HR, 17 RBI), Jenna Burnett (.389, 25 RBI) and Kay Brokering (.384, 9 2B, 5 HR, 28 RBI).
 
- Four pitchers have thrown over 25 innings for King this season. Leslie Odom leads the way with 75.0 innings pitched. Over that span, the junior has an 8-4 record with a 2.99 ERA and 50 strikeouts. Rachel Farmer (3.80 ERA, 3-2) and Emma Hughes (5.48 ERA, 2-6) have tossed right at 38 innings apiece.
 
- King will get on base anyway it can as the team leads Conference Carolinas with 32 hit-by-pitches and ranks fifth with 76 walks.
 
- The Tornado have spent the bulk of the season on the road as King is 7-9 on the road compared to 3-1 at home.
 
Series History:
 
- Carson-Newman has dominated Lincoln Memorial, particularly in recent seasons. The Eagles own a 49-20 edge in the all-time series with wins in seven of the last eight meetings. Carson-Newman swept last season's doubleheader by scores of 7-3 and 3-2, while the two teams split a doubleheader at Dorothy Neely Field in 2016. LMU lost game one 3-0 before bouncing back with an 8-0 triumph in game two.
 
- In stark contrast, the Lady Railsplitters are 20-6 all-time against King and have won the last eight meetings dating back to March 28, 2013. The two teams last met in 2016, when Lincoln Memorial swept the Tornado 4-1 and 11-8 in Harrogate.