TIGERVILLE, S.C. – For the second straight year and third time in program history, the Lincoln Memorial baseball team will head to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional. The seventh-seeded Railsplitters (35-19) repeated as South Atlantic Conference tournament champions with a thrilling 11-inning win over Catawba on April 30 to clinch an automatic berth and have won 12 of their past 14 games overall. LMU's 35 wins are tied with last year's team that won two games in the Southeast Regional for the second-most in program history behind only the 1996 team's 36.
 
The Railsplitters open the double-elimination tournament Thursday at 3 p.m. against second-seeded and No. 6 nationally-ranked Georgia College (43-10), who repeated as Peach Belt Conference champions with a 7-5 triumph over No. 25 USC Aiken on Sunday. The Bobcats have won eight straight games and 40 of 46 overall since a 3-4 start to the season.
 
"They're one of the hottest teams in the country," head baseball coach Jeff Sziksai said. "They do everything well. We'll have to have a complete team effort to win."
 
The Southeast Regional features a loaded field that includes three teams ranked in the latest NCBWA poll: No. 2 North Greenville (44-8), No. 6 Georgia College and No. 14 Columbus State (40-12). Belmont Abbey (37-12) and UNC Pembroke (36-12) also received votes. North Greenville earned the top seed, hosting duties and first-round bye. Five teams—Lincoln Memorial, UNC Pembroke, Georgia College, North Greenville and Belmont Abbey—rank in the top eight nationally in total runs scored.
 
No. 4 seed Columbus State plays No. 5 UNC Pembroke, and No. 3 Belmont Abbey will face No. 6 Wingate. The winner of the Southeast Regional will advance to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship in Cary, N.C. May 26-June 2.
 
The Railsplitters went 1-4 against Southeast Region opponents during the regular season. LMU dropped all three games at then-No. 16 Wingate to open SAC play on February 23-24 and split a doubleheader with Belmont Abbey in Harrogate on April 11. Lincoln Memorial's walk-off win in game two over the then-No. 2 Crusaders gave the team its highest-ranked win in program history.
 
Thursday's opening-round matchup will be the fourth meeting between LMU and Georgia College. The two teams have faced each other in each of the Railsplitters' two other trips to the Southeast Regional.  The Bobcats eliminated Lincoln Memorial from the 2013 tournament with a 12-0 win, and the Railsplitters returned the favor in 2017 with a 7-6 walk-off victory for the program's first-ever NCAA tournament win. LMU won a regular-season meeting 8-3 in 2010.
 
The winner of Thursday's game will move on to face the winner of the Belmont Abbey- Wingate matchup, while the two losing teams will play each other in an elimination game. Both potential games would take place Friday.
 
LMU and Georgia College boast two of the most potent offenses in the nation. Lincoln Memorial is sixth nationally with 459 runs scored and ranks seventh with 588 hits. Georgia College leads the nation with 711 hits, 485 runs and a .363 team average. The Bobcats are the only team to amass over 650 hits, and the team's batting average is 19 points higher than second place.
 
The Bobcat lineup includes six regular starters players batting above .370: Nate Schmal (.422), Matthew Miller (.411), Logan Mattix (.406), Wesley Womack (.399), Garrett Green (.385) and Brandon Burcell (.376). Miller enters the tournament on a 28-game hitting streak.
 
LMU's lineup features more power, as the Railsplitters have launched 63 home runs to Georgia College's 34. Tyler Adams and Chris Salvey have each hit 11 while Timmy Wages has 10. Seth Hunt enters with a 24-game hitting streak that has increased his batting average from .269 to .356.
 
Georgia College's team ERA (4.09) is a full run lower than Lincoln Memorial's (5.09). Ethan Elliott is LMU's likely starting pitcher after earning SAC Pitcher of the Year honors with an 8-3 record, 2.94 ERA and program-record 111 strikeouts. The junior lefty started last year's meeting against the Bobcats and allowed four runs—two earned—in 7.1 innings. Charlie Hecht is Georgia College's probable pitcher and also started last year's matchup. He allowed five earned runs in 4.1 innings. The senior righty has been one of the best pitchers in the nation this season with an 11-0 record, 2.43 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 100.0 innings pitched.
 
"Our guys understand that when you get to this time of year, especially in the Southeast region, every time you strap it up it's going to be against someone pretty good," Sziksai said. "They've got a really good guy going and so do we. It's going to come down to execution."
 
Lincoln Memorial has had a 17-day layoff since defeating Catawba in the SAC tournament championship game April 30. Georgia College last played on Sunday.
 
"Mentally, being able to prepare for that was a little easier this year," Sziksai said.
 
Lincoln Memorial won its first two NCAA tournament games in program history last year in Mount Olive, N.C. The seventh-seeded Railsplitters fell 4-1 to second-seeded North Georgia in their first game before walking off Georgia College 7-6 and topping UNC Pembroke 11-6. The team's run came to an end with an 8-2 loss to Catawba.
 
"I think the experience helps in that you know what to expect," Sziksai said. "Knowing what to expect helps you, but at the end of the day, experience only goes so far. You still have to go out there and execute."
 
Wages hit the game-winning sac fly in the bottom of the ninth to score Hunt and added a two-run homer in the Georgia College game. LMU built a 6-0 lead over the first five innings, but the Bobcats came back to tie the score with six runs over the final three innings.
 
"Both teams are in the same situation," Sziksai said. "A lot of Georgia College's guys were in this situation last year too. It's definitely a level playing field. It'll come down to execution."