GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — As the regular season begins to wind down, every South Atlantic Conference doubleheader has that much more riding on it. The Lincoln Memorial University softball team entered this past Saturday as the second-place team, but now sit in a four-way tie for fifth place after the Lady Railsplitters' first SAC doubleheader loss of the year at Coker.
 
There's more than enough time to get back on track, though, as No. 18 LMU (28-10, 6-6 SAC) travels 77 miles down TN-32 South for an in-state, conference matchup with the last-place Pioneers (17-17, 5-9) to complete a four-game road trip before hosting a pivotal doubleheader versus top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne (24-12, 7-4) Saturday at Dorothy Neely Field for Senior Day.
 
The Basics
Wednesday, April 10 at Tusculum University — 3 & 5 p.m.
 Live Stats (Game One / Game Two)
 
Quick Hits
-Before Saturday, the Lady Railsplitters prevailed in every conference doubleheader, bouncing back if they dropped the opening game to win the second one, or vice versa. However, the Cobras got the best of LMU and cooled down one of the conference-leading bats, holding the visiting team to a total of three runs in the doubleheader matchup, which was the lowest all season for LMU.
 
-Ty-Kella Goins went 2-for-4 in the second game with one hit being her 16th double, which is fifth best in the nation and No. 1 in the SAC, while McKenzie Henry connected on her first home run — a two-run shot for the only runs in the second game and her second-best 43rd RBI —since March 16 for her 10th blast of the season.
 
-Goins' .386 batting average leads the Lady Railsplitters' third-ranked conference .319 clip — that is also currently third-best by any LMU team— as does her on-base percentage (.459) for a player that has saw the field in all 38 games. LMU's .414 on-base percentage is in the first in the conference, which mirrors the number of walks (135) and hit-by-pitch (38) the Lady Railsplitters have had to be the best in the SAC.
 
-Right behind Goins' team-leading average is Emma Webb (.379), who had two of the Lady Railsplitters' four hits in the first game at Coker and the lone RBI. In that same game, Justice Smith (8-1) suffered her first loss in the circle, but her stat line didn't mirror the defeat as she tossed six innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits while striking out one and walking another.
 
-Even with struggles of leaving runners on base, the Lady Railsplitters' offensive attack has been one to reckon with. It ranks first in runs (257), doubles (82) and extra-base hits (124), along with second in hits (323), RBI (232) and third in slugging percentage (.515) and fourth in home runs (32).
 
Know the Opponent
-Coming into this matchup, Tusculum has lost six straight, dropping three doubleheaders to Young Harris followed by a pair of conference tilts to Carson-Newman and Queens. On the other hand, the Pioneers swept then-No. 21 Wingate and Newberry while splitting with Anderson and losing doubleheaders versus Mars Hill and Catawba.
 
-Through 34 games, Tusculum has accumulated a .281 batting average, .429 slugging percentage and .360 on-base percentage with 172 runs scored, 21 home runs and 155 RBI. Those 21 homers are good for fifth in the conference along with the Pioneers' 10 triples.
 
-Leading those efforts is a senior duo in Emily Hester and Taylor Battle. Hester, an infielder, has a team-high .343 batting average, 27 RBI, 12 doubles and seven home runs. In the outfielder Battle, she has a second-best .339 average with a team-high 39 hits, seven triples and 11 stolen bases.
 
-In the circle, it's a committee approach as Taylor Plemons (5-6) has tossed a team-high 72 innings for a 3.68 ERA, including 40 strikeouts. Ivee Richesin (6-5) is next with 70.2 innings pitched for a 3.37 ERA and 31 strikeouts, while Allison Pate (5-5) has a save, along with Ashley Scozzari (1-1), where she has tossed 63.1 innings for a 5.08 ERA plus 37 strikeouts.
 
Head-to-Head
-This storied matchup dates back to 1982 and has featured the back-and-forth feel any rivalry has as LMU holds the narrow 66-54 overall record.
 
-LMU has won the last five of six games, including three straight, and is 26-27 on the Pioneers' home field while being 35-25 at home and 5-2 in a neutral setting.