NEWBERRY, S.C. — The Lincoln Memorial University softball team is back on the field after having a week off while moving up the rankings in the process. Winners of the last 16 of 18 games, the Lady Railsplitters are preparing with the intentions of snapping a four-game losing streak versus the South Atlantic Conference foe Wolves.
 
The Basics
Saturday, March 30 at Newberry College — 1 & 3 p.m.
Live Stats (Game One / Game Two)
Video
 
Quick Hits
-In the last time out, the Lady Railsplitters split with Queens, 5-4 and 2-3, after dismantling then-No. 9 ranked Carson-Newman in their first doubleheader as a ranked team. Those efforts moved LMU (26-6, 4-2 SAC) from No. 23 in the NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll to No. 19, pushing the Eagles out of the poll and pulling Wingate — the then-No. 20 team the Lady Railsplitters split with two weeks ago — back into the poll at No. 21.
 
-Justice Smith (8-0) has been unstoppable for LMU in the circle as she picked up her seventh win against the Eagles and the eighth versus Queens to stay undefeated. Her 3.26 ERA in 68.2 innings pitched with 54 strikeouts leads the Lady Railsplitters, while Faith Howe (8-3) was the other pitcher to take down archrival Carson-Newman.
 
-Junior Ty-Kella Goins continues to hold down the lead-off spot, playing in all 32 games with a team-high .387 batting average, 36 runs scored, 106 at-bats, 41 hits, 11 doubles and nine stolen bases. She also has a team-tying best three triples and is fourth in home runs with three.
 
-With 71 doubles, the Lady Railsplitters are first in the SAC as Goins' 11 has her in third, Grace Cochran's 10 puts her in fourth while Emma Webb is in sixth behind her nine. Kelsie Hocutt also has seven and McKenzie Henry — the SAC's leader in RBI with 38, despite not having a hit or RBI in the last three games — and Bella Buccellato have six apiece.
 
-Though LMU didn't have a pair of mid-week games, the Lady Railsplitters are still first in runs (230), RBI (205), extra-base hits (108), walks (120), hit-by-pitch (29), sacrifice hits (28), on-base percentage (.427). LMU is also second in stolen bases (39), batting average (.331), slugging percentage (.536), total bases (451) and hits (278), while being third in home runs (28).
 
Know the Opponent
-Like LMU, the Wolves (21-11, 3-5) split with Queens as Newberry dropped game one, 4-8, before bouncing back in the second game and edging out the 7-6 victory. After the doubleheader-opening loss to the Royals Wednesday, the Wolves had lost five straight, including a pair to then-No. 20 Wingate followed by two more at Tusculum.
 
-Newberry opened its SAC play with a doubleheader sweep of Anderson before hitting that five-game losing streak. The Wolves have been paced by the conference-leading bat of Natalie Willis and the second- and third-best SAC RBI hitters: Haley Simonds (36) and Hannah Davis (35). Davis is also tied for third, along with the Lady Railsplitters' Henry, for third-best in the conference with nine home runs.
 
-In the circle, Alyssa Ball (9-3) has been one of Newberry's aces behind her 2.55 ERA in her 79.2 innings pitched. Right behind her is Selice Daley (9-5), who has a 3.55 ERA in 75 innings pitched and a team-high 90 strikeouts. Ball has 31 strikeouts while Chelsey Cunningham is in a three-way tie for second place in the conference, with LMU's Bailey Griffith as both have three saves.
 
-The Wolves sit towards the top of the statistical conference categories as they are fourth in runs (173), RBI (160) and total bases (402) while being fifth in triples (nine), home runs (24), extra-base hits (71), hit-by-pitch (19) and batting average (.310). Newberry is also first in stolen bases (55), and is third in shutouts (five), walks (89) and hits (274).
 
Head-to-Head
-After LMU won seven straight from 2011 to 2014, the Wolves have owned the series, winning the last six of eight matchups including the last four straight.
 
-Overall, the Lady Railsplitters hold the 13-12 series record, with an 8-4 home record while being 5-7 away and 0-1 in a neutral site.
 
Record watch
-Head coach Ritchie Richardson is four games away from his 1,000th win. Last year, the Hall of Fame skipper came to LMU with a 946-339-2 record, and then went 24-22 in his first season under the helm and is 26-6 so far through his 22nd season, good for a 996-367-2 record.