HARROGATE, Tenn. – Offense was hard to come by for the Lady Railsplitters on Wednesday afternoon at Dorothy Neely Field as the King Tornado ended Lincoln Memorial's 10-game homestand on a sour note by sweeping a nonconference doubleheader.
The Lady Railsplitters (19-11) were shutout for just the third time all season in game one as King (17-13) handed Lincoln Memorial its second 1-0 loss of the season to snap an eight-game losing streak in the series. The Tornado then completed the sweep with a 7-4 triumph in game two to take both ends of a doubleheader from the Lady Railsplitters for the first time since 2010
Lincoln Memorial is back in action on Friday when the team returns to South Atlantic Conference play with a trip to Charlotte, N.C. for a pair of matchups against nationally ranked Queens at 1 and 3 p.m.
Game One: King 1, Lincoln Memorial 0
King starter Leslie Odom baffled the Lady Railsplitters over seven shutout innings, holding Lincoln Memorial to only three hits – one shy of the team's season-low mark – while issuing just one walk and striking out three to move to 9-4 on the season.
Ashlea Hunter went 2-for-2 with a pair of singles while the rest of the team finished a combined 1-for-20.
Ty-Kella Goins accounted for the only other hit with a single in the sixth, while
Grace Cochran reached base via a walk.
Brianna Taylor did her part and gave Lincoln Memorial a chance to win with a solid performance in the circle. Taylor relinquished only eight hits (all singles) and one earned run over seven innings of work but fell to 8-7 with the loss.
King recorded five of its eight hits through the first three innings but Taylor kept the Tornado quiet until the top of the fifth, when Katie McCann led off with a single, stole second and scored on a single from Hannah Riddle.
After failing to advance a runner as far as second base through the first five innings, the Lady Railsplitters conjured their best scoring opportunity in the bottom of the sixth. Singles from Hunter and Goins put runners on second and third for
Allie Jones, who blistered a ball to straightaway centerfield that looked certain to send both runners home. However, McCann saved the day for King with a leaping catch on the warning track to end the inning.
That proved to be the final opportunity for the Lady Railsplitters, who went down in order in the bottom of the seventh.
McCann and Kay Brokering led King with two hits apiece. Brokering reached in all three of her plate appearances by going 2-for-2 with a walk, while McCann scored the lone run of the game and was responsible for the game-saving, highlight reel catch in the seventh.
Game Two: King 7, Lincoln Memorial 4
Goins went 2-for-2 with a triple and two runs scored, Cochran added a pair of singles with an RBI and
Elise Bruce connected on the first home run of her career, but that was not enough to overcome a much more productive Tornado attack in game two.
King scattered 11 hits in the contest to complete the sweep. Brokering once again reached in all four plate appearances with a 3-for-3 effort that included two runs and a walk. Riddle went 2-for-4 with a home run, while Jenna Burnett had two hits, an RBI and a double. Erin Roper drove in two runs.
Justice Smith went the distance for the Lady Railsplitters, allowing seven earned runs while striking out three and walking one to fall to 11-4 on the season.
The two teams traded runs in the second inning. The Lady Railsplitters committed a throwing error in the top half of the frame that put King on the board before the Tornado returned the favor with an error that allowed
Emma Webb to score after the freshman led off with a triple.
King then took control of the game by scoring five unanswered runs, highlighted by a three-run outburst in the fourth. Riddle hit a solo shot to give the Tornado the lead for good in the third, while RBI knocks by Burnett, Summer Hayes and McCann comprised the three-run fourth. A sac fly plated another run in the fifth and put King ahead 6-1.
Goins scored during a rundown in the bottom of the fifth inning to put the Lady Railsplitters back on the board. Bruce's no-doubt solo shot in the sixth brought Lincoln Memorial even closer, but King answered in the top of the seventh with an RBI single by Roper.
The Lady Railsplitters put up a bit of a fight in the seventh as Goins tripled with two outs and scored on a single from Cochran, but LMU was unable to bring it any closer and fell 7-4.
Emma Hughes picked up the win for the Tornado after allowing just three hits and two unearned runs with five strikeouts in four-plus innings of work. Rachel Farmer earned the save with three innings of three-hit, two-run ball.
