HARROGATE, Tenn. – A pair of six-run innings carried the Railsplitters to a comfortable win in the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader, while
Henry Moore's pinch-hit single delivered the walk-off win in the night cap, as Lincoln Memorial completed its South Atlantic Conference sweep of the Wingate Bulldogs with 16-6 and 7-6 wins at Lamar Hennon Field.
In dramatic fashion, the Railsplitters (28-12, 15-3 SAC) swept their fourth SAC series of the season to remain in third place in the loaded conference standings. Wingate (24-15, 9-9 SAC), meanwhile, was swept in SAC play for the second straight weekend, but remains three games ahead of Carson-Newman in fifth place.
Lincoln Memorial is back in action on Tuesday with a trip to Rome, Ga., to face the Shorter Hawks for a single game at 2 p.m.
Game One: Lincoln Memorial 16, Wingate 6
Five different players drove in multiple runs to lead the Railsplitters to their second straight 10-run win over the Bulldogs.
Tanner Head connected on his first career home run, drove in four runs and went 2-for-5 at the plate, while
Chris Salvey smashed his 11th home run of the season as part of a 2-for-4 day that included three RBI and three runs scored.
Will Reddick went 3-for-5 with two RBI, while
Brent Richey homered again, drove in three runs and scored three times.
Seth Hunt also produced three RBI, while
Tyler Adams and
Nate Stinson had two hits apiece.
Wingate struck first with a sac fly in the top of the second, but Richey's two-out solo shot in the bottom half of the inning erased that run and drew the game back level.
The Railsplitters then broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth, as
Dalton Dedas walked and Adams reached via an infield single in front of Salvey, who obliterated the offering from Wingate starter Alex Rodriguez down the left-field line for the three-run homer.
Lincoln Memorial kept it going that inning as Stinson followed with a double and Richey walked to put two runners on for Head, who hit the second three-run homer of the inning for the Railsplitters to cap a six-run frame.
Jed Bryant's two-run homer put the Bulldogs back on the board and cut the deficit to 7-3 in the top half of the fifth, but LMU responded with another six-run frame. Two walks and Adams' second infield single loaded the bases before Richey doubled home two runs and Head singled in another. With the bases still loaded, Hunt cleared them with a double to right center to make it a 13-3 game.
Wingate chipped into the Railsplitters' lead with two runs in the sixth and another in the seventh, but Lincoln Memorial added three more runs in the bottom half of the eighth to complete the scoring. Dedas led off the inning with a triple and scored on Adams' sac fly, while Reddick drove home two runs with a double down the left-field line.
Eli Wright picked up the win for the Railsplitters, moving to 4-0 on the season after limiting the Bulldogs to seven hits and four earned runs with two strikeouts over five innings of work.
Joe Bobiak recorded the final 12 outs of the game, conceding just five hits over the final four innings while striking out four.
Game Two: Lincoln Memorial 7, Wingate 6 (8 innings)
While game one was a runaway, game two was significantly more dramatic.
For the third time in the series, the Bulldogs took the lead first when Andrew Llewellyn belted a lead-off home run in the top of the second.
But the Railsplitters answered in the home half of that inning. With the bases juiced after two walks and a single from Stinson, Hunt put Lincoln Memorial in front with a two-run single.
The Railsplitters then extended their lead in the bottom of the third when Stinson hit a two-out solo shot to center field to make it 3-1.
It was then Wingate's turn to respond as the visitors used a sac fly and an RBI infield single to tie the game in the top of the fourth.
However, Stinson continued his big day at the plate in the home half of the fifth, following a hit-by-pitch to Adams and a walk to Salvey with a three-run shot to left center to catapult the Railsplitters in front 6-3.
The Bulldogs again answered, though, pulling within a run with an RBI double from Justin Guy and an RBI single from Bryant in the sixth. With the Railsplitters then nursing a 6-5 lead in the top of the seventh, Llewellyn led off the inning with his second homer of the day to tie the game at 6-6.
In the bottom of the seventh, Lincoln Memorial gave itself a chance to pull out the victory in regulation when Adams led off with a double. However, a strikeout and a costly base running mistake ended the inning and sent the game to extras.
Devin Morris worked a 1-2-3 top of the eighth to set the stage for the Railsplitters' walk-off win. Reddick got things started with a single and advanced to second on Head's sac bunt. Pinch hitter Moore was then brought to the plate, and the righty came through, roping a single back up the middle. Reddick narrowly beat the throw to the plate from center field, sliding under the tag to give the Railsplitters the victory.
Morris picked up the win after holding Wingate scoreless and hitless for the final two innings.
Matt Mullenbach did not factor into the decision after allowing 13 hits and six runs while striking out five over six-plus innings of work.
Stinson went 3-for-3 with two homers and four RBI, while six other LMU players finished with a single hit apiece.