WINGATE, N.C. – The Lady Railsplitters dropped a pair of South Atlantic Conference contests at Wingate on Saturday, falling 6-5 on a walk-off in game one before stumbling in a 9-1 five-inning setback in game two.
Lincoln Memorial (21-21, 4-12 SAC) led late in game one before the Bulldogs (20-24, 8-8 SAC) rallied to win in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Lady Railsplitters never found their footing in game two as Wingate scored early and often to complete the sweep.
The Lady Railsplitters, who have now lost 12 of their last 14 games, return to Dorothy Neely Field next week to end the regular season with a pair of SAC doubleheaders, beginning on Wednesday with a twinbill against Tusculum set for a 2 p.m. start.
Game One: Wingate 6, Lincoln Memorial 5
Teddi Collins came up clutch with a go-ahead, pinch-hit three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning but the Bulldogs hit a pair of solo homers in the bottom of that inning to set the stage for a walk-off win in the bottom of the seventh.
The lead changed hands five times in the back-and-forth contest.
Wingate struck first on an RBI single from Aubrey Reep in the bottom of the first before
Emma Webb put the Lady Railsplitters ahead 2-1 with a two-run single in the top of the third. The Bulldogs reclaimed a 3-2 lead in the bottom half of the third on a Naomi Sapp RBI triple and a sac fly from Reep.
The Lady Railsplitters continued to trail 3-2 until the top of the sixth inning, when
Grace Cochran led off with a double and
Bella Buccellato walked to put two runners on for Collins, who delivered a pinch-hit, three-run bomb to straightaway centerfield. It was the senior's third home run of the season and first since a two-homer game against Midway on March 23.
Lincoln Memorial's lead was once against short-lived, though, as Emma Swenson and Mikayla Hannah led off the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back solo home runs to end
Brianna Taylor's day and tie the game at 5-5.
Kelsie Hocutt singled and moved to second on an error with one out in the top of the seventh but the Lady Railsplitters left her stranded there following a fly out and a groundout.
Haley Cashwell then set the Bulldogs up for the walk-off win by slashing a one-out triple down the right-field line in the home half of the seventh. After back-to-back intentional walks loaded the bases, a dropped fly ball in centerfield on a ball put in play by Swenson allowed the winning run to score.
Hits were even at 9-9.
Jacie Pittman went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and a run. Hocutt also produced two hits with a double. Cochran and
Allie Jones added doubles in the contest.
Cashwell, Swenson and Hannah led the Bulldogs with two hits apiece while Reep drove in two runs.
Taylor made the start but did not factor into the decision after giving up eight hits and five runs (three earned) with no walks and one strikeout over five-plus innings of work.
Justice Smith was saddled with the loss despite surrendering just one hit and one unearned run in 1.1 innings of relief.
Reep went 6.0 innings but also didn't factor into the decision for the Bulldogs. She allowed eight hits, five runs and two walks while striking out four. Rachel Weidner picked up the win with one inning of one-hit, scoreless relief.
Game Two: Wingate 9, Lincoln Memorial 1 (5 innings)
The Lady Railsplitters mustered just three hits while the Bulldogs piled up 13 and scored in four of their five trips to the plate.
Hocutt drove in Lincoln Memorial's lone run of the game with an RBI double in the top of the first.
Ty-Kella Goins and Webb accounted for the only other bit of offense for the Lady Railsplitters with a single apiece.
Hannah powered Wingate's offensive assault with three two-run doubles to finish 3-for-3 with six RBI. Cashwell and Sapp added two hits and an RBI apiece while combining for three runs scored. All nine Wingate starters finished with at least one hit in the contest.
After Hocutt's RBI double in the first, the Bulldogs finished the game early by scoring nine unanswered runs.
Hannah had a two-run double in the bottom of the first and added another one in the third to make it a 4-1 game. Taylor Wells also singled in a run in the third frame, while Sapp added another run-scoring single in the fourth. Hannah's third two-run double came in the fourth as well and gave the Bulldogs a commanding 8-1 lead.
With a runner on third base with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Cashwell singled back to the pitcher to drive in the run-rule clinching run.
Smith took the loss after giving up 11 hits and eight earned runs with two strikeouts and a walk in 4.0 innings of action.
Madison Shields threw the final inning and gave up two hits, including that game-ending single in the seventh.
Weidner earned her second victory of the day after limiting the Lady Railsplitters to just one hit and two walks over the final four innings. She moved to 5-9 on the season with the two wins.
