HARROGATE, Tenn. - The No. 13 Lincoln Memorial University softball team capped off a cold Valentine's Day with plenty to celebrate, handily knocking off the Cedarville University Yellow Jackets at Dorothy Neely Field by a combined 18-2 margin.

LMU (5-1) won via mercy rule to get the afternoon rolling at a high pace, 10-1, before putting the icing on the cake over the Yellow Jackets (0-2) in the second outing, 8-1 to polish off the V-Day sweep.
 
Game 1 – No. 13 Lincoln Memorial def. Cedarville 10-1
 
The Lady Railsplitters spread their hits around the entire batting order throughout both blowouts, though the star of the show was in the pitcher's circle across the opening game. Sophomore Bailey Griffith snatched her third victory of the season to stay unbeaten at 3-0 personally, striking out a grand total of seven batters while allowing just four hits.

The White Bluff, Tennessee product threw the entire five-inning contest that was shortened due to the nine-run margin, giving up the only score of the game in the top of the second aided by an infield throwing error.

Griffith's regrouping and LMU's commanding batting prowess were more than enough to make that solo Yellow Jackets score forgettable in the end.

Ty-Kella Goins, McKenzie Henry, and Sierra Hucklebee went a combined 7-10 at the plate in the lopsided win, amounting to four of the team's nine RBI. The scoreboard read 3-0 within minutes in the bottom of the first, thanks to a Hucklebee double, Henry single, and Grace Cochran double. All three of those hits hit the sweet spot in right field.

Following that small hiccup in the top of the second, the Lady Railsplitters took the field once more undeterred. Henry would be hit by a pitch with bases loaded, allowing junior Bella Buccellato to find home. Two batters later, Cochran grabbed another RBI, this time in the form of a left side single, to score Hucklebee.

As it turns out, the avalanche of runs was just getting started. Once Henry circled the bases in the bottom of the third to put LMU ahead 6-1, the Lady Railsplitters put the Yellow Jackets away with a four-run outburst in the fourth frame to collect the decisive W.

Madison Henry waited patiently for a bases-loaded walk to score another run, before Tori Voiles joined in on the fun with a two-RBI single up the middle. Henry was able to reach home again once Goins reentered the fray, thanks to a base hit from the preseason all-South Atlantic Conference first team recipient.

From there, Griffith struck out the final two Cedarville batters consecutively to close the win and send LMU into the second meeting riding a wave of momentum. As the final score from that ensuing game showed, they kept riding it.
 
Game 2 – No. 13 Lincoln Memorial def. Cedarville 8-1
 
Turning in 11 hits across the first outing on Friday, the Lady Railsplitters mirrored that impressive stat line in the rematch, with Hucklebee and Goins each going perfect at the plate with a combined 7-7 performance at bat.

Individually, Hucklebee added three more RBI to give the sophomore ten already this season, with the reigning SAC Freshman of the Year getting right down to business to start the scoring barrage early.

Lincoln Memorial powered in five unanswered runs across the first two innings in the second matchup, making it ten scores in a row dating back to the win just minutes earlier. A left center double from Hucklebee, middle single from McKenzie Henry, and sacrifice fly from junior Audrey Petoskey made it 3-0 LMU after one.

Nearly duplicating their run output in the second period, it was Hucklebee once again to drive the dagger into the Yellow Jackets on a right field triple to bring Goins around the diamond. The sophomore shortstop in turn reached home moments later off a base hit from Henry.

After a scoreless third frame, the only inning of the game in which LMU didn't pad in at least one run, Cedarville's only offensive spurt came in the top of the fourth with an RBI single from Heather Lord.

The Lady Railsplitters answered right back with one score of their own later that inning, and in a familiar theme in the early stages of the year, Hucklebee was the culprit once more, dealing a right center double for her third RBI of the contest.

LMU steadily grew the lead even further over their final two innings at bat, scoring once each in the fifth and sixth stanzas. Madison Henry singled to center field to score Cochran to make it 7-1, before junior Elise Bruce reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop, which brought Goins home for the fifth time on the day.

Much like Griffith earlier in the afternoon, freshman pitcher Emma Frost stayed unbeaten on her personal resume by throwing the entire game, allowing just five hits on five strikeouts. The Lady Railsplitters now own a four-game winning streak on the year with four more outings to come over the next 48 hours.
 
Up Next
 
The home weekend schedule is far from over for Lincoln Memorial, as they await two more meetings each on Saturday and Sunday before taking their first road trip of the season in the middle of the week. A third straight game with Cedarville is next on deck for LMU, throwing the first pitch at 12:30 p.m. before battling Ohio Dominican at 5:30.

Returning to Dorothy Neely Field for the third straight afternoon on Sunday, the Lady Railsplitters meet ODU for a second time, then facing off with McKendree to cap off a stretch of 10 games in the first 10 days of the 2020 campaign, all in Harrogate.
 
How to Follow
 
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms —@LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram — for more LMU softball coverage across the 2020 season.