HARROGATE, Tenn. – With time running out on the 2018 campaign, the Lady Railsplitters return to Dorothy Neely Field for the final week of the regular season, beginning on Wednesday with a pair of must-win South Atlantic Conference contests against Tusculum. 
 
Lincoln Memorial (21-21, 4-12 SAC) dropped a doubleheader at Wingate last Saturday to sink into last place in the SAC standings with four games remaining in the regular season. Tusculum (22-21, 6-10 SAC) is also coming off a sweep as the Pioneers were pummeled 10-7 and 14-0 on Saturday at Newberry. 
 
Schedule / Game Day Links: 
 
Wednesday, April 18 vs. Tusculum (2pm) – Live Stats 
Wednesday, April 18 vs. Tusculum (4pm) – Live Stats
 
Quick Hits: 
 
- Senior Teddi Collins delivered a pinch-hit, three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to put the Lady Railsplitters ahead 5-3 in game one of Saturday's doubleheader at Wingate. However, the Bulldogs led off the bottom of that inning with back-to-back solo jacks to tie the game and won in walk-off fashion in the seventh on a dropped fly ball in centerfield. Jacie Pittman and Kelsie Hocutt led LMU with two hits apiece, while Emma Webb drove in a pair. 
 
- The Lady Railsplitters were limited to just three hits in game two while the Bulldogs piled up 13 to complete the sweep with a 9-1 victory in five innings. Hocutt drove in LMU's only run with a first-inning double. Justice Smith allowed 11 hits and eight runs over 4.0 innings of action. 
 
- LMU is currently in 11th place in the SAC standings. The top eight teams in the final league standings qualify for postseason play, and the Lady Railsplitters are three games back of eighth place Carson-Newman in the win column. LMU is trying to avoid missing the SAC tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since joining the league in 2007. 
 
- Hocutt remains one of the hottest hitters in the conference. The junior has hit safely in 12 consecutive games with multiple hits in seven games during that span. She is ranked third in the league with a .440 average, fifth in RBI with 38, fourth in slugging percentage at .712 and eighth in on-base percentage at .471. 
 
- Webb is also sizzling as the freshman has hit safely in 10 straight games and 14 of her last 16 overall. The lefty is batting .355 with 11 doubles, four homers and 32 RBI. 
 
- Aside from Hocutt and Webb, Ty-Kella Goins (.382) and Allie Jones (.300) are the only every day players hitting better than .300 for the Lady Railsplitters. Goins has hits in five of her last six games, including an epic 5-for-7 performance with seven home runs against Mars Hill. Jones has multiple hits in four of her last seven games. 
 
- The Lady Railsplitters have been outscored 133-88 in SAC play. By contrast, the team has outscored its opponents 152-72 in nonconference action. Lincoln Memorial is last in the league with a .379 batting average against in SAC play and 10th in ERA with a 6.48 clip. 
 
- LMU has been substantially better offensively at home with a .316 average and .483 slugging percentage. On the road, the team is batting .251 with a .391 slugging percentage. 
 
Know the Opponent: 
 
- In its last three SAC doubleheaders, the Pioneers were swept at Newberry, split with Carson-Newman and split at Wingate. Tusculum lost the first game of all three of those series and won game two against both the Eagles and Bulldogs. 
 
- In game one at Newberry, Tusculum led 6-2 midway through the fourth but the Wolves scored six in the bottom of that inning to take the lead for good in a 10-7 win. Tusculum's one through three hitters – Taylor Battle, Delaney Guerrero and Emily Hester – combined to go 6-for-12 with two RBI and four runs. Emma Casey also delivered a grand slam. 
 
- Tusculum mustered just two hits in game two while the Wolves scored four in the second and nine in the fourth to pile drive the Pioneers 14-0 in five innings. Lizzy Galloway was the victim of Newberry's offensive assault, giving up 11 hits and 10 runs over 3.1 innings of action. 
 
- Tusculum has been mostly mediocre across the board. The Pioneers are batting .306 with a .370 on-base percentage and .435 slugging percentage. In SAC play, those numbers dip to .281/.346/.393. In the circle, the Pioneers have a .290 batting average against and 3.94 team ERA. 
 
- Guerrero leads the Pioneers with 59 hits and a .431 batting average. The sophomore outfielder has accounted for 11 doubles, two homers and 26 RBI. Battle is second on the team with 50 hits and a .336 average. She has a team-leading six triples to go with 20 RBI and 10 steals. Freshman Anna Alloway is also a threat with 11 doubles, a team-high six homers and 24 RBI. 
 
- Five pitchers have made at least one appearance for the Pioneers this season. Allison Pate leads that quintet with 115.1 innings of action, a 9-9 record, a 3.10 ERA and 58 strikeouts. Taylor Plemons has tossed 91 innings and compiled a 7-7 record with a 4.69 ERA and 53 whiffs. 
 
- Tusculum is 16-7 at home and a miserable 4-14 on the road this season. At home, the team is hitting .337 and averaging nearly six runs per game. On the road, the Pioneers have hit .269 and accounted for only 3.6 runs per contest. 
 
Series History: 
 
- The Lady Railsplitters are 64-54 all-time against Tusculum in a long-standing rivalry that dates back to 1982. 
 
- Lincoln Memorial is 33-25 against the Pioneers in Harrogate. The Lady Railsplitters swept a doubleheader the last time the two teams met at Dorothy Neely Field in 2016, winning 10-2 in game one and 5-4 in game two. 
 
- LMU earned a split with the Pioneers in last season's meeting, losing game one 6-5 before rebounding with a 12-1 triumph in game two.