HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University baseball team split Saturday's doubleheader at Lamar Hennon Field with South Atlantic Conference rival Lenoir-Rhyne (22-14, 10-8 SAC) but still won its fourth straight home SAC series.
The Railsplitters (22-11, 9-9 SAC) used four home runs, including two by
Chris Salvey, to beat the Bears 6-4 in game one. Lenoir-Rhyne returned the favor to salvage a game in the series by scoring eight unanswered runs in the seven-inning nightcap to down LMU 10-5. All 11 of LMU's total runs were scored via the longball.
Tyler Adams hit two home runs on the day with one in each game and has now homered in four straight.
The Railsplitters continue their 11-game homestand Tuesday with a nonconference matchup against Trevecca.
Game One: Lincoln Memorial 6, Lenoir-Rhyne 4
Salvey homered twice and drove in four while Adams and
Logan Augustine added solo shots to account for all six LMU runs. Adams added a double and stolen base.
Lenoir-Rhyne outhit the Railsplitters 11-8 and was led by Justin Dean (3-for-4), who finished a home run shy of a cycle. Cole Fowler doubled and scored twice. Alex Reynolds also tallied two hits and drove in a run.
Salvey kicked off the scoring with a three-run bomb to left center in the bottom of the first. Adams sent the very next pitch over the left-center field wall as well.
Marcus Shoemaker hit into a fielder's choice to plate Lenoir-Rhyne's first run in the top of the fifth. Augustine then went deep to lead off the bottom half. Salvey followed suit with another home run two batters later to expand the Railsplitter lead to 6-1.
Joe Bobiak allowed four runs—two earned—in 6.1 innings to improve to 6-1. The lefty allowed seven hits, walked two and struck out one.
The Bears plated three runs in the seventh to cut the score to 6-4. Dean and Reynolds each drove in runs with sacrifice flies. Caleb Beatty later doubled in a run. Lenoir-Rhyne batted around but left the bases loaded after Will Jones fouled out to end the threat.
Matt Sullivan fell to 4-2. The righty allowed six LMU runs as well as all eight hits in five innings.
Lenoir-Rhyne left 11 runners on while the Railsplitters stranded 10. Neither team hit well with runners on base. The Bears were 5-for-22 (.227) while LMU finished 1-for-13 (.077) with Salvey's three-run shot accounting for the only hit.
Jake Grenus held the Bears scoreless over the final two innings to pick up his second save.
Game Two: Lenoir-Rhyne 10, Lincoln Memorial 5
The Bears jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first off LMU starter
Matt Mullenbach on a Reynolds RBI groundout. Dean led off the inning with a walk and advanced two bases on an errant pickoff attempt before scoring.
Adams put the Railsplitters up 4-1 in the bottom half of the frame with a grand slam. Bears starter John Grigg retired the first two batters before walking three straight to load the bases. A one-out
Timmy Wages solo blast in the third accounted for Lincoln Memorial's only other run.
Reynolds also singled in the third to drive in the Bears' second run.
After Wages' home run made the score 5-2, Lenoir-Rhyne scored eight unanswered runs. A wild pitch in the fifth plated Dean, and Aaron Stamper later blasted a two-run homer to tie the game at 5-5.
Mullenbach departed after the home run with five runs allowed—four earned—in 4.2 innings in a no-decision.
Lenoir-Rhyne seized control with five more runs in the sixth. Grant Fuller was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and Matthew Freeman cleared the bases with a double. Stamper then singled him in.
Grenus couldn't replicate his performance from game one and allowed five runs over an inning of work. He was tagged with the loss to fall to 4-1.
Grigg improved to 6-1 with five earned runs allowed in five innings and struck out seven.
Dean finished 1-for-1 with a double but reached base in all four plate appearances with three walks. He also scored three times. Stamper and Freeman each drove in three runs while Reynolds drove in two.
The win snapped Lenoir-Rhyne's five-game losing streak to LMU.
