HARROGATE, Tenn. – Riding a season-long, eight-game winning streak, the Lincoln Memorial baseball team returns to Lamar Hennon Field this week to begin a five-game home stand with nonconference matchups against Shorter on Tuesday and Kentucky State on Wednesday. First pitch in those single games is set for 3 p.m. 
 
The Railsplitters (19-8) swept their second straight South Atlantic Conference series this past weekend, pulling out 13-4, 9-8 and 10-1 wins at Lenoir-Rhyne to improve to 10-2 in conference play. Those three victories extended Lincoln Memorial's winning streak that began on March 5 to eight games. 
 
Both Shorter and Kentucky State are off to solid starts to the 2019 season. The Hawks (14-10) took two of three from West Alabama this past weekend in Livingston, Ala., to move to 6-7 in Gulf South Conference play. The Thorobreds (13-5-1) won three of four games at Morehouse College last weekend, highlighted by 16-2 and 15-3 beatdowns. 
 
Schedule / Game Day Links 
 
Tuesday, March 19 vs. Shorter – 3pm 
Live Stats 
 
Wednesday, March 20 vs. Kentucky State – 3pm 
Live Stats 
 
Quick Hits
 
- Big innings propelled the Railsplitters in their doubleheader sweep at Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday. In game one, Lincoln Memorial scored six runs in the top of the sixth inning and held on for the 9-8 win. In game two, the Railsplitters capped the series sweep by scoring five in the first and five more in the seventh in a 10-1 victory. 
 
- The Railsplitters smashed four home runs to power their 13-4 win in the opener at Lenoir-Rhyne. Those homers came off the bat of Tyler Adams, Will Reddick, Seth Hunt and Dalton Dedas. 
 
- Lincoln Memorial has been a scoring machine of late with at least seven runs in seven of its last eight games, including five double-digit scoring performances over that span. The Railsplitters are tied for third in the SAC in total runs with 216 and rank third in RBI with 196 and batting average with a .307 clip.  
 
- Chris Salvey leads the SAC in RBI with 36 and ranks fourth in the league with a .392 batting average. The senior first baseman had four hits with three RBI and a double in the series at Lenoir-Rhyne. 
 
- Nate Stinson now has recorded multiple hits in eight straight games, compiling an 18-for-35 effort at the plate over that span. The junior went 6-for-13 in the series at Lenoir-Rhyne with four runs, three doubles and two RBI. He ranks seventh in the SAC with a .385 batting average, including a filthy .420 clip in conference play. 
 
- Dedas entered the weekend series with multiple hits in four straight games, but went 1-for-9 at the plate against L-R to see his average drop from .389 to .349. The junior did, however, hit his second home run of the season in the series opener. 
 
- Hunt pushed his hitting streak to eight games with a combined 4-for-10 effort at the plate at Lenoir-Rhyne. He racked up five runs scored, one double, one homer and six RBI to drive his season total to 29, which ranks third in the SAC. The senior is also among the top 16 in the league in batting average (.361), on-base percentage (.467) and slugging percentage (.611). 
 
- Reddick has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games and went 4-for-12 in the series at L-R to lift his batting average to .308. The senior had four runs, three RBI and a homer in those three games. 
 
- Ben Wiley has been one of the go-to midweek starters for the Railsplitters. The senior righty is 1-1 this season, but lasted just 3.0 innings in his last start against Virginia-Wise on March 12, giving up four hits, three runs and two walks in a no decision against the Cavaliers. 
 
- Adams homered in the first two games of the series at L-R and went 5-for-13 at the plate overall with four runs and four RBI. The junior shortstop is batting .396 and has 20 hits in 15 appearances. 
 
- The Railsplitters have won six consecutive nonconference home games, including all four this season. Lincoln Memorial was last beaten at home by a nonconference foe on April 11, 2018, when No. 2 Belmont Abbey notched a 5-4 win. 
 
Notes on Shorter 
 
- Michael Avendano and Bailey Gerstner have carried the Shorter offensive attack with .468 and .416 batting averages, respectively. Avendano has racked up a team-leading 36 hits with three homers and 20 RBI while drawing 16 walks compared to only 10 strikeouts. Gerstner has 32 hits with six doubles, 15 RBI and 14 walks with a mere six strikeouts. That duo also has two stolen bases apiece. 
 
- Victor Perez is the only other everyday player hitting above .300 for the Hawks. The senior out of Puerto Rico has a .315 average with 29 hits, seven doubles and 18 RBI. Samyr Santos is hitting only .273, but has done a load of damage with a team-leading 10 doubles and five home runs. Samur also ranks second on the team with 19 RBI. 
 
- Nathaniel Butterworth has also been potent in the middle of the Shorter order with eight doubles, two dingers and 13 RBI. However, he is among the team leaders with 21 strikeouts. 
 
- The Shorter pitching staff has posted a 4.16 team ERA with 180 strikeouts over 197 innings of work. Opposing offenses are batting .236 against the Hawks. 
 
- Freshman Jaydon Berry started the most recent midweek game for Shorter in a 7-6 loss to Emmanuel last Tuesday. Berry went eight innings in that contest, allowing 12 hits and five earned runs while striking out five and walking four.
 
Notes on Kentucky State 
 
- The Thorobred offense has been outstanding so far this season with a .324 team batting average and a .452 on-base percentage. On top of that, Kentucky State has limited its opposition to a .216 batting average and .356 on-base percentage. 
 
- The quartet of Russell Sims, Jay Poullard, Cameron Starks and Jordan Ransom are leading the way for Kentucky State offensively. Sims is batting .410 with 25 hits, three doubles, 22 RBI and a .538 on-base percentage, while Poullard has accounted for a .400 average with just three strikeouts in 45 at-bats. Starks leads the team with 27 hits, including three triples, while Ransom has produced a team-high four home runs with a .385 average. 
 
- Dom Lawsom has also been productive with a .339 average, six doubles, two home runs and 15 RBI. He is one of six everyday players for Kentucky State with an on-base percentage of .420 or better with a .452 clip. 
 
- Kentucky State's pitching staff boasts a 4.82 ERA and .226 batting average against. De'Nayus Johnson made the most recent midweek start for the Thorobreds, tossing 3.0 innings of three-hit, three-run ball against Eastern Kentucky. Jacob Kelly started the game before that, going three innings with two hits and five walks allowed in a loss to Murray State. 
 
- The Thorobreds visit Kentucky Christian University on Tuesday before heading to Harrogate for Wednesday's matchup against the Railsplitters. Kentucky State has already played 15 of its 19 games on the road this season, compiling a 10-4-1 road record. 
 
Series History 
 
- The Railsplitters are 5-0 all-time against Shorter. The closest margin of victory for the Railsplitters was three runs in a 7-4 win in 2013. Since then, Lincoln Memorial has rattled off 13-8, 27-8 and 14-3 victories. 
 
- The Railsplitters are 24-1 all-time against Kentucky State with a run of five straight wins. The Thorobreds notched their only win in the series in 2015 in Frankfurt, Ky. Lincoln Memorial dominated a doubleheader against KSU last season, winning 10-1 and 11-1 in Harrogate.