HARROGATE, Tenn. - Recently, the No. 13 Lincoln Memorial University softball team has made a living in the early portion of the season blowing out their non-conference opponents.

On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Railsplitters displayed a flair for the dramatic.

Capturing their fifth and sixth consecutive victories at Dorothy Neely Field over Cedarville and Ohio Dominican, LMU (7-1) used late-game heroics not once, but twice to keep on rolling through the multi-team tournament.

Faced with a 4-2 deficit against the Yellow Jackets (0-4) in extra innings, junior catcher Audrey Petoskey catapulted a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to give LMU their second victory via walk-off of the year. In the nightcap vs. ODU (1-3), the Lady Railsplitters turned what was a stagnant offensive outing into a 4-1 triumph thanks to a quartet of runs in the bottom of the sixth.
 
Game 1 – No. 13 Lincoln Memorial def. Cedarville 5-4 (8)
 
Petoskey's three-run bomb to seal the game might have been the biggest takeaway from LMU's third straight win over the Yellow Jackets, although it seemed as if the Lady Railsplitters would run away with a convincing win throughout the early going thanks to a stout defense.

Junior first baseman and reigning South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week Emma Webb circled the field to find home in the bottom of the second after a Kelsie Tuggle ground ball, giving LMU the early advantage. Two innings later, Tuggle secured her second RBI of the game, this time on a left field double, to score Grace Cochran, making it 2-0 Lincoln Memorial.

Landing eight hits in the contest, but with only two runs to show for it heading into the top of the seventh, the Lady Railsplitters were well on their way to grabbing the shutout win over Cedarville just one day after outscoring the Yellow Jackets 18-2 combined across a pair of one-sided blowouts.

LMU felt comfortable despite the slim lead largely due to senior Justice Smith's performance in the circle. The Rockmart, Georgia native had thrown the entire game leading into the final inning while only allowing two hits. Disaster struck, however, with the Yellow Jackets waiting until the last second to tie the game at 2-2, forcing an extra frame.

Hannah Lord doubled to left center to bring Sarah Parsons to home plate, making the score 2-1. Lady Railsplitter Head Coach Ritchie Richardson opted to change pitchers at this moment, switching to sophomore Bailey Griffith. Cedarville capitalized on the sudden substitution, with Lord advancing both to second and third base on a passed ball, eventually scoring the game-tying, unearned run.

Luckily for LMU, they didn't panic in the extra period, even when they trailed for the first time with their backs against the wall.

In the eighth, Arica Flaugher brought in an RBI double, setting the stage for herself to later find home after Sophia Hevel was caught attempting to steal second base. The momentary distraction allowed Lord to score, putting LMU in a stunning 4-2 deficit.

Enter Cochran and Petoskey. McKenzie Henry already stood on second base to open the bottom of the eighth, and after Cochran singled up the middle, Petoskey stepped up to bat, and obliterated the ball to center field, handing the Lady Railsplitters their most thrilling win yet.

Griffith would take credit for the win, preserving her personal unbeaten record of 4-0, and for the second time in as many weeks, Lincoln Memorial squeezed out an extra-inning barnburner.
 
Game 2 – No. 13 Lincoln Memorial def. Ohio Dominican 4-1
 
Perhaps on a bit of a high from the events of the previous game, LMU approached the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader rather sluggishly. Until the bottom of the sixth, when they had the chance for more late-game magic, that is.

The Lincoln Memorial defense did their part once more against the Panthers, with sophomore pitcher Faith Howe guiding the Lady Railsplitters to another superb performance in the circle.

Throwing the entire game on her way to striking out four batters, Howe and the LMU defense bent slightly versus ODU, but never broke. The offense took some time to wake up so to speak, but once it did, it signaled the end for Ohio Dominican.

Knocking in five of their eight hits in a high-octane sixth inning, sophomore infielder Kelsey Hoskins finally broke the scoreless tie by reaching on a fielder's choice, advancing to second base. In turn, Cochran moved to third, and Bella Buccellato sprinted home after an ODU throwing error to get the scoring torrent underway.

Madison Henry grounded out as the next batter, but not before Cochran and Hoskins advanced one base each, scoring the former. Sophomore infielder Tori Voiles then bounced an RBI single to make it 3-0 LMU.

Later in the sixth, lead-off hitter Ty-Kella Goins offered an RBI single of her own to score Laken Phillips for the first run of the true freshman's career. This four-score cushion was more than enough to hold off the Panthers the rest of the way.

Goins and Cochran equaled each other's production at the plate by both going 2-3. The Lady Railsplitters secured eight hits in both outings on Saturday, which was good enough to snatch their fifth and sixth straight wins. The last three days LMU has taken the field for a doubleheader, they have won both contests each time.
 
Up Next
 
Winning their two games on Friday convincingly, before opting for more theatrical methods to beat Cedarville and ODU Saturday, Lincoln Memorial rounds out a busy weekend Sunday afternoon for two more meetings at Dorothy Neely Field. LMU takes part in a one-and-done matchup with McKendree at 10:00 a.m., before closing their six-game weekend slate with a second outing against Ohio Dominican at 3:00 p.m.
 
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.