HARROGATE, Tenn. – For the second time in the past three weekends, the Lady Railsplitters will take part in a total of six games over the next three days when they compete in the Salem Tournament on Friday and Saturday before returning to Dorothy Neely Field on Sunday for a doubleheader against New Haven.
 
Lincoln Memorial (9-7) is currently riding a four-game winning streak after combining for 26 hits to sweep a doubleheader at Virginia-Wise last Sunday by scores of 6-3 and 12-9.
 
The Lady Railsplitters will face Edinboro and West Liberty on day one of the Salem Tournament in Salem, Va. on Friday. Edinboro will be making its season debut while West Liberty went 2-1 to open its season last weekend at the Queens Invite. Lincoln Memorial completes the Salem Tournament on Saturday against two winless teams, Salem (0-4) and Winston-Salem State (0-9).
 
New Haven is preparing for its first trip to Harrogate after splitting a doubleheader against Queens (N.Y.) on Tuesday. The Chargers will visit Carson-Newman on Saturday before teeing it up against the Lady Railsplitters.
 
Schedule / Game Day Links:
 
Friday, March 9 vs. Edinboro (Salem Tournament) – 1pm
Friday, March 9 vs. West Liberty (Salem Tournament) – 3pm
Saturday, March 10 vs. Salem (Salem Tournament) – 10am
Saturday, March 10 vs. Winston-Salem State (Salem Tournament) – Noon
Sunday, March 11 vs. New Haven – 2pm Live Stats
Sunday, March 11 vs. New Haven – 4:30pm Live Stats
 
Quick Hits:  
 
- The Lady Railsplitters scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to rally for a 6-3 win in game one at Virginia-Wise. Ty-Kella Goins went 3-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored and a double, while Bella Buccellato added two hits and two runs scored. Brianna Taylor allowed nine hits but only one extra-base knock and one earned run to move to 4-4 on the season.
 
- Lincoln Memorial belted four home runs to compete the sweep with a 12-9 victory in the nightcap. Kelsie Hocutt homered twice, while Jacie Pittman and Emma Webb also went deep. Goins, Webb and Hocutt all had three hits and combined for eight runs and six RBI.
 
- Hocutt and Goins are leading the Lady Railsplitters with .381 and .375 batting averages, respectively. Hocutt has hit safely in eight of her last night games and is tied for the team lead with four dingers. Goins has multiple hits in four of her last five appearances and leads the team in hits with 21 and doubles with six.
 
- Taylor has allowed three earned runs or less in all 11 of her appearances this season. The senior righty is sporting a 1.58 ERA and a .238 batting average against with 33 strikeouts and just nine walks over 62.0 innings of work.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are currently ranked fourth in the South Atlantic Conference with a .439 slugging percentage. Audrey Petoseky leads the team in that department with a .741 clip. The freshman catcher has just eight hits but four have been home runs. Lincoln Memorial is ranked ninth out of 11 conference teams in batting average with a .283 mark.
 
- Webb leads the Lady Railsplitters with 13 RBI and is hitting .333 out of the cleanup spot through the first 16 games of her college career. She has contributed three doubles and 17 hits, ranking second on the team in that department.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters will be playing just their third and fourth home games of the season on Sunday. Lincoln Memorial split with Milligan in the home opener on February 13.
 
Know the Opponents:
 
- Edinboro will open its season against the Lady Railsplitters on Friday. The Fighting Scots went 16-21 last season. The team was picked to finish fifth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. The Fighting Scots will be led into the 2018 campaign by two-time All-Region outfielder Danna Heh and All-PSAC West pick Olivia Jankowski.
 
- West Liberty opened its season last weekend by splitting with Queens – winning game one 7-2 and losing game two 7-3 – and beating Johnson C. Smith 7-2 at the Queens Invite. The Hilltoppers hit .333 over the weekend, led by Kelsi Johnson's 6-for-11 effort at the plate that included a triple. Sydney Bennington hit two home runs over the weekend and drove in three runs. Three different pitchers made a start. Savanna Sieger led that trio with complete-game performance against Johnson C. Smith that included seven strikeouts.
 
- Salem, previously known as Salem International, has been manhandled in all four of its games this season, losing 13-5 to University of the Sciences, 5-1 and 12-1 to West Chester, and 8-3 to Chowan. The Tigers are returning to action for the first time since that game at Chowan on February 25.
 
- Like Salem, Winston-Salem State enters the Salem Tournament seeking its first win of the 2018 campaign. The Rams are 0-9 and have been outscored by a combined total of 79-36 so far this season. The team is hitting just .256 compared to a sizzling .398 mark for opponents. Erica Davis leads the Rams with 10 hits, while Daijah Chambers and Samantha Gibbs have two home runs apiece. The WSSU pitching staff has a 6.75 team ERA with just 25 total strikeouts over 56 innings of work.
 
- New Haven is sitting at 4-3 on the season after splitting on Tuesday against Queens (N.Y.). The Chargers lost game one 9-0 before bouncing back with a 4-1 win in game two.
 
- New Haven – located in West Haven, Connecticut – is hitting .276 as a team while holding opponents to a .246 clip. Kristine Liptack leads the way with a .409 batting average, nine hits, four doubles and eight RBI. Jovanna Hillman is batting .364 with eight hits and four homers, while Taylor Luzzi is the only other regular hitting over .300 with a .320 mark and two doubles.
 
- The New Haven pitching staff is sporting a 2.98 ERA. Kylie Stonebraker has a 2.67 ERA, a 2-2 record and 11 strikeouts over 21.0 innings of work. She has allowed opposing hitters to bat just .195. Megan Butts has produced a 3.27 ERA with a 2-1 record and a .280 batting average against over 25.2 innings.
 
Series History:
 
- The Lady Railsplitters won the only previous meeting against Edinboro 7-5 in 2001 in Florence, S.C.
 
- LMU is 1-1 against West Liberty as the Lady Railsplitters won 5-4 in 2012 and lost 7-6 last season in the Salem Tournament.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters is a perfect 6-0 all-time against Salem. Over that span, Lincoln Memorial has outscored the Tigers by a combined 61-8.
 
- LMU and Winston-Salem State have never played one another, nor have the Lady Railsplitters and New Haven.