HARROGATE, Tenn. — Some home runs, clutch pitching and come-from-behind offensive magic turned into a Lady Railsplitter sweep Tuesday afternoon at Dorothy Neely Field.
The Lincoln Memorial University softball team used its early lead to take down the visiting Tornado in the first game, 9-4, before rallying back from a five-run deficit in the final game as the Lady Railsplitters rustled away the 9-7 victory.
The pair of wins pushed the Lady Railsplitters (16-4) to three straight home doubleheader sweeps and six consecutive wins, improving to 16-2 on their home turf.
It was the trio of seniors —
Kelsie Hocutt,
Allie Jones and
Jacie Pittman — who got the Lady Railsplitters off to a blazing start on a chilly afternoon.
With two outs in the second inning, Jones (3-for-4, 2 RBI) extended the frame as she sent her first home run of the season over the right-field wall for a solo shot to get the scoring started.
Jacie Pittman (2-for-3, 3 RBI) followed her lead, smacking her first of the year in a two-run blast, scoring
Grace Cochran (walk) for the quick three-run lead.
The Lady Railsplitters didn't slow down in the third frame, and with the help of a Tornado error, Hocutt's second homer of the year plated
McKenzie Henry (walk) and
Emma Webb, who reached on an errant throw, to go up 6-nil.
An error haunted LMU in the next inning, scoring King's first two runs of the day, but the Lady Railsplitters got them back plus one. Even with the Tornado pitching change of Rachel Farmer relieving Leslie Odom (L, 3-1) in the fourth inning after
Bella Buccellato (2-for-2, walk) doubled, it didn't alter LMU's approach.
Farmer got the next three batters out in that frame, but the Lady Railsplitter came out ripping in the next bottom half. Hocutt (2-for-4, 3 RBI ) singled, as
Savannah Daniel pinch ran for her, stole second and scored off
Allie Jones' RBI single. Pittman continued the trend, singling in Jones and then the designated player scored via another Buccellato double to complete the three-run inning and nine-run, 10-hit first game.
King tacked on two more runs in the seventh inning on
Bailey Griffith (W, 7-2), who relieved
Faith Howe in the fourth inning, but the freshman pitcher stopped the rally with a strikeout to end the threat.
The night cap was the complete opposite. King (7-4) was the one jumping out to a quick lead, scoring five in the first four innings to end
Justice Smith's day in the circle. Howe (W, 4-2) took over following Azlee Sells' leadoff homer and was able to calm the bats as she allowed three runs on six hits over 3.1 innings.
That same inning is when the LMU bats got to starter Emma Hughes. A trio of Lady Railsplitter runs relieved her duties in the circle, but the swings didn't slow down for Casey Gilbert (L, 1-2) either.
Pittman's standout day continued as she doubled in Cochran (single), and then Buccellato doubled again to score Pittman (2-for-2) before the sophomore advanced to second via a fielding error that allowed
Ty-Kella Goins (3-for-4, 3 RBI) to reach safely.
Sierra Hucklebee plated the third and final run of Hughes' day thanks to an RBI-single, scoring Buccellato to come within two runs. LMU opened the flood gates with a six-run fifth inning, which featured three King errors and a bases-clearing double from Goins to take the lead for good.
An error allowed Goins to score and Huckleebee to reach before Henry capped off the scoring with an RBI-single, plating her fellow freshman teammate.
Again, King made a two-run seventh inning rally, but Griffith (S, 1) shutdown all comeback heroics from the Tornado to secure the in-state, mid-week sweep.
