HARROGATE, Tenn. – After opening South Atlantic Conference play with a three-game sweep for the first time ever, the Railsplitters return to Lamar Hennon Field this weekend to host No. 10 Catawba for the first home SAC series of the 2019 campaign. 
 
Coming back home for the first time since February 9, Lincoln Memorial (10-6, 3-0 SAC) is riding high after extending its winning streak to four games with a 5-3 win at Lee on Tuesday. Prior to that, the Railsplitters utterly dominated Anderson in the SAC-opening series, outscoring the Trojans 23-4 to win all three games. LMU was one of only two conference teams to sweep the first series of the season along with Newberry. 
 
Catawba (13-4, 1-2 SAC) has hit a bit of a rough patch. The Indians won 12 of their first 13 games, but dropped two of three against Wingate this past weekend and followed that up with a 5-2 loss at Barton on Tuesday. 
 
This weekend's series kicks off on Friday at 4 p.m. The series concludes with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available for all three games at www.lmurailsplitters.com. 
 
Schedule / Game Day Links 
 
Friday, March 1 vs. Catawba – 4 p.m. 
Live Stats 
 
Saturday, March 2 vs. Catawba – 1 p.m. 
Live Stats 
 
Saturday, March 2 vs. Catawba – 4 p.m. 
Live Stats 
 
Quick Hits 
 
- Senior left-hander Ethan Elliott aims for an encore performance when he takes the mound in game one against Catawba. On Sunday night, Elliott turned in one of the most dominant starts in program history, striking out 17 batters without issuing a walk over 8.1 innings of work. Elliott, who allowed just six singles in the 9-0 victory, fell just two strikeouts short of matching the SAC record and one shy of the program record to improve to 3-1 on the season. For that effort, he was tabbed as both the SAC and Southeast Region Pitcher of the Week.
 
- Chris Salvey's two-run home run in the top of the fourth inning put the Railsplitters ahead for good in a 6-4 win in game two at Anderson. Hudson Widrig picked up the win after allowing just two hits and no runs over 4.1 innings of relief, while Devin Morris notched the save. 
 
- Matt Mullenbach was sensational in the sweep-clinching 8-0 win in game three against Anderson, tossing a complete-game shutout with nine strikeouts. The senior right-hander surrendered only three singles and walked just two to bag his first win of the season. 
 
- Salvey is on an absolute tear during the Railsplitters' four-game winning streak with multiple hits in all four games, including a 3-for-4 outing that included a homer and a double in the win at Lee. The first baseman is currently in the top 10 in the SAC in batting average (.417), on-base percentage (.514) and slugging percentage (.733) while ranking second in the league in homers with four and third in doubles with seven. 
 
- The LMU pitching staff is ranked third in the conference with a 3.78 earned run average. Elliott has posted a 1.14 mark to lead the way. 
 
- Nate Stinson has reached base safely in all 16 games this season and has hit safely in 10 straight games. The junior had the biggest hit of the game in the win at Lee with a three-run single. 
 
- Will Reddick has quietly pieced together a six-game hitting streak with a run of four straight games with multiple hits. That spurt has catapulted the senior's batting average to .279, though he hit .429 in the SAC series at Anderson. 
 
- Seth Hunt has reached base safely in 15 straight games and ranks second among qualified LMU batters with a .443 on-base percentage. The senior is batting .328 with six doubles and 11 RBI. 
 
Notes on Catawba 
 
- The Indians are at or near the top in nearly every statistical category, ranking first in batting average at .319, total bases with 272, hits with 183, doubles with 44 and triples with six, while rankings second in on-base percentage (.413) and slugging percentage (.475). Catawba has put double-digit runs on the board six times this season. 
 
- The Catawba pitching staff has also been sensational with a league-leading 3.19 ERA and .215 batting average against. The Indians have outscored their opposition 131-59 cumulatively this season. 
 
- Five players that have appeared in every game for Catawba are batting well over .300. Jackson Raper is leading that quintet with a .409 average that includes seven doubles, two triples, two homers and 18 RBI, while Jeremy Simpson has hit .324 with five two-baggers. Heath Mitchem is hitting .362, Hunter Shepherd is at .356 and Joe Butts is at .328. Shepherd leads the team with four homers. 
 
- The Railsplitters are likely to face Riley Myers, Bryan Ketchie and Shepherd in some order on the mound this weekend. Myers has made a team-leading five starts, posting a 2-0 record with a 4.15 ERA and 12 strikeouts over 26 innings. Ketchie is 4-0 with 20 strikeouts and a 2.22 ERA, while Shepherd has gone 1-1 with 22 strikeouts over 24.1 innings. 
 
- Catawba has won an impressive six straight South Atlantic Conference regular-season titles and were picked ahead of the Railsplitters in the SAC preseason poll leading up to the 2019 campaign. 
 
- This weekend will be the first road series of the season for Catawba, who are 2-2 on the road compared to 10-2 on its home field. 
 
- Junior Cameron Morrison and freshman Henderson Lentz are two more potent bats in the Catawba lineup. Morrison has slugged a pair of homers and four doubles while racking up a .368 batting average, while Lentz has hit .271 across a team-leading 70 at-bats. 
 
Series History 
 
- The Railsplitters have typically struggled against Catawba in the regular season with a 12-38 all-time record in the series. However, Lincoln Memorial won two of three at Catawba in last season's series. 
 
- Lincoln Memorial also defeated the Indians in a thrilling SAC tournament title game in 2018, rallying to win its second straight conference championship with a 9-7 victory in extra innings. 
 
- The Railsplitters are 5-12 all-time against Catawba at home, but won the most recent series between the two squads in Harrogate in 2017.