ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The Lincoln Memorial baseball team picked up its first two wins of 2019 and snapped a three-game, season-opening losing streak by sweeping a doubleheader at Claflin on Monday afternoon.
The Railsplitters (2-3) outlasted the Panthers (2-2) in the opener 5-4 before cruising to a 10-1 triumph in the nightcap to improve to 9-1 all-time against Claflin. Lincoln Memorial also extended its winning streak in the series to five games.
After a five-game road trip, Lincoln Memorial will make its Lamar Hennon Field debut this weekend with a three-game series against Ohio Valley. Game one kicks off at 4 p.m. on Friday.
Game One: Lincoln Memorial 5, Claflin 4
Game one was a back-and-forth affair as the Railsplitters took a two-run lead on two separate occasions only to see the Panthers rally both times. But LMU finally pulled away in the sixth inning and held off Claflin down the stretch
The Railsplitters only produced five hits in the game, but drew a season-high 11 walks. Four different players walked twice, including
Seth Hunt, who drove in a run with a double.
Marco Rios had a pair of RBI, while
Henry Moore and
Tanner Head drove in a run apiece as well.
Eli Wright picked up his first career win for the Railsplitters after allowing just three hits without a run over three innings of relief work. Wright worked in relief of
Ben Wiley, who gave up six hits and four runs across four innings of action.
Claflin outhit the Railsplitters 9-5 and was led by two hits apiece from Craig Hopkins and Eric McElveen, who also accounted for two of the team's four RBI.
A two-run double by Rios put the Railsplitters ahead 2-0 in the top of the second inning, but the Panthers responded and tied the game in the bottom of that frame with a two-run bomb by McElveen.
Lincoln Memorial pushed runs across in the fourth and fifth innings on RBI knocks by Hunt and Moore to reclaim a two-run advantage at 4-2. However, a sac fly and an RBI single for Hopkins tied the game again at 4-4 in the fifth.
The Railsplitters took the lead once and for all in the sixth inning, though, as two walks and a bunt single for
Alex Allen loaded the bases for pinch hitter
Tanner Head, who drew a walk to push the winning run across.
The Panthers put the potential tying run on third base in the bottom of the seventh inning as Lyndale Morley led off with a single, moved to second on a groundout and advanced 90 feet from home on a passed ball. But Wright forced McElveen to ground out to end the game.
Game Two: Lincoln Memorial 10, Claflin 1
Game two was much less dramatic as the Railsplitters led from start to finish and used a six-run sixth inning to blow the game open to complete the sweep.
Lincoln Memorial needed only six hits to score 10 runs as the Panthers issued seven walks and committed three errors.
Hunt went 2-for-3 with a triple, a homer, two RBI, two walks and three runs scored, while
Brent Richey hit his first home run in an LMU uniform.
Chris Salvey drove in two runs and drew a walk.
Jake Grenus picked up the win with four innings of seven-hit ball. He struck out three and did not allow a walk in his first win of the 2019 campaign.
Bryson Sullivan combined to surrender just two hits with three strikeouts across three innings of relief as that duo limited the Panther offense to only one extra-base hit.
Hunt's solo home run in the first and RBI triple in the third paired with Richey's solo shot in the fourth put the Railsplitters out to an early 3-0 lead.
Claflin got on the board in the fourth with an RBI double, but the Railsplitters closed the game by scoring seven unanswered runs.
Six of those runs came in the sixth inning, which was powered by an RBI single from
Nate Stinson and a two-run double by Salvey. The Panthers committed all three of their errors in that inning.
