HARROGATE, Tenn. – Two weekends into the 2020 season, coming off their greatest year in school history the previous spring, the Lincoln Memorial University softball team has thus far lived up to the hype through its first 10 games, all at home, flexing their muscles once more across consecutive victories over McKendree and Ohio Dominican on Sunday afternoon.

The Lady Railsplitters (9-1) offered up 14 hits on their way to a 10-2 triumph against the Bearcats to get the day rolling, putting the icing on the cake of a perfect 6-0 weekend later in the afternoon by bludgeoning the Panthers 11-1.

With its greatest test of the early season upcoming Tuesday at Young Harris in a rematch of the 2019 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship series, LMU rides into that doubleheader winners of their last nine games, already with four victories on their resume via the mercy rule.
 
Game 1 – No. 13 Lincoln Memorial def. McKendree 10-2 (5)
 
Hitting was contagious for the Lady Railsplitters in Sunday's opener against the Bearcats (1-5), with four players grabbing at least a pair in the eight-run shellacking. Sophomore Tori Voiles was the best of the lot, breaking out for a 3-3 performance at bat next to a pair of RBI. Speaking of breakout roles, outfielder Kelsey Hoskins, making her first career start in her second season with the program, landed three RBI next to a double in the blowout.

The game turned deep into LMU's favor just as it began, with the Lady Railsplitters parading in six runs in the bottom of the first inning. The first came from sophomore catcher McKenzie Henry on a right side single, scoring lead-off batter Ty-Kella Goins. After Hoskins reached on a fielder's choice to score Henry later in the frame, Emma Webb and Grace Cochran both circled the diamond on a single up the middle from McKenzie's sister Madison.

Voiles would later single to shortstop to bring Hoskins full circle, completing the first inning onslaught at 6-0. All told, LMU finished with seven hits in the first period, half of their total across the entire five-inning contest.

The already-commanding lead grew even further in the bottom of the fourth, with three more scores added on for good measure. The first two came from Hoskins on a double-RBI shot to right center, scoring Savannah Daniel and Laken Phillips. Voiles piled on another helper to make it 9-0 Lady Railsplitters on a third-base single to score Hoskins.

Even when the Bearcats seemed as though they would be extending the game with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, courtesy of Kelsey Sachs on a 2-RBI single, LMU put those efforts to bed later that same inning. Junior Audrey Petoskey, who provided a three-run homer in the bottom of the eight against Cedarville the previous day, popped up a sacrifice fly ball, bringing Sierra Hucklebee to home plate, securing the mercy rule W.

Freshman pitcher Emma Frost picked up her third victory in as many tries in the circle, throwing the entire game while allowing just four hits on three strikeouts. She wouldn't be the only LMU pitcher to stay unbeaten by the end of the day, as Bailey Griffith took her turn versus Ohio Dominican, accomplishing the same feat.
 
Game 2 – No. 13 Lincoln Memorial def. Ohio Dominican 11-1 (5)
 
As much as the bats were on fire in the first game of the day, the Lady Railsplitters injected even more power into their offense against the Panthers (2-4), landing their largest margin of victory of the season thus far, needing only two innings to do their damage.

The second and fourth frames were extremely kind to Lincoln Memorial in the second half of the doubleheader, reeling off four and seven runs respectively to defeat ODU for the second time in as many days, having already bested them 4-1 the afternoon before.

McKenzie Henry was dynamite once more from the plate, going a perfect 3-3 at bat with two doubles next to four RBI.

Junior outfielder Bella Buccellato kicked off the scoring avalanche by reaching first on an ODU fielding error, scoring Hoskins for the third time on the day. With the bases loaded towards the bottom of the second, Henry thrusted a three-RBI triple deep into left center, bringing home Buccellato, Hucklebee, and Goins to make it 4-0.

LMU ventured on what was their highest-scoring single inning of 2020 in the bottom of the fourth, gaining seven unanswered runs after the lone score for Ohio Dominican in the top of the third.
Kelsie Tuggle would be the first to find home in the frame after a Goins ground out, with Buccellato and Hucklebee doing the same back-to-back, the former off a fielder's choice reach by the latter. McKenzie Henry continued her terrific performance with an RBI-double that brought Hucklebee back home.

Grace Cochran patiently waited for a bases-loaded walk three batters later, which scored Henry. Hoskins collected another RBI with a ground-out to score senior pinch runner Savannah Daniel. The Lady Railsplitters polished off their ridiculous rally with pinch hitter Sami West trudging back home after Tuggle reached first on a Panthers throwing error.

Bringing her unblemished record to 5-0 after pitching the entire game, Griffith retired five batters while only giving up three hits. The lone ODU run occurred on a right side single by Carson Hackerd to score Taylor Farmer. LMU wasn't phased in the slightest, notching the final seven scores of the game to win by an overwhelming 10-run margin.
 
Up Next
 
Outscoring McKendree and Ohio Dominican by a combined 18 runs at 21-3, the Lady Railsplitters take to the road for the first time in an ultra-important non-conference doubleheader against the team that ended their magical postseason run a year ago in the Southeast Regional Championship, the Young Harris Mountain Lions.
Traveling to the Peach State on Tuesday for game times at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m., LMU seeks revenge over Young Harris in a two-game set that may linger heavily come the regular season's end for seeding determinations.
 
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.