HARROGATE, Tenn. – A three-run eighth inning lifted the Lincoln Memorial University baseball team to victory Tuesday afternoon, as the Railsplitters outlasted visiting Lee University 9-8 at Lamar Hennon Field after a come-from-behind performance.
 
The Railsplitters move to 6-9 on the season, while the Flames drop to 8-6.
 
LMU cranked out 14 total hits on the day, led by home runs from sophomore outfielder Scooter Ray and senior outfielder Nate Stinson, who each tallied two hits and three RBI. Also registering two hits each were sophomore third baseman Cameron Bowen, junior first baseman Brandon Parrott and senior shortstop Tyler Adams. Ray has now posted two hits or more in three of his last six contests, while Stinson has recorded a pair of hits in back-to-back games for the first time this season. He also scored twice.
 
Lee got on the board first in the second with a bunt single followed by a double. The Flames added cushion to their lead, scoring three times in the third to build a 4-0 advantage.
 
The following frame, LMU quickly erased the deficit, plating five runs on seven hits. After a trio of singles from Bowen, freshman leadoff second baseman Max Palmieri and senior outfielder Brent Richey brought Bowen home to get the Railsplitters on the board, Stinson went yard to bring in both Palmieri and Richey and tie the game at 4-4. A single up the middle from Ray that same inning brought Parrott across the dish, who himself had singled earlier.
 
LMU clung to its one-run advantage until the seventh, when Lee scored three times on a hit-by-pitch, single, and homer and took a 7-5 lead.
 
Ray homered in the bottom of that inning to narrow the gap to 7-6, and the Railsplitters regained the lead the following frame. Richey and Stinson both scored on an Adams double down the left field line and then Adams plated the ultimately deciding run after a bases-loaded walk to Ray.
 
The Flames threatened in the ninth, scoring on a single after a pair of Railsplitter miscues, but sophomore right-handed closer Eli Wright caught them looking for a critical second out before sealing the deal after inducing a groundout to end the contest. 
 
Wright recorded his second win of the season, tossing two and 2/3 innings while picking up a game-high four strikeouts.
 
Lefty reliever Seth Konkel took the loss on the mound for Lee, striking out three in one and 2/3 innings of work but giving up four earned runs.
 
Up Next…
LMU returns to the road this weekend, heading to Newberry, South Carolina, to face South Atlantic Conference and nationally-ranked foe Newberry College in a three-game series beginning Friday, Feb. 28.
 
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 complete coverage of Railsplitter baseball throughout the 2020 season.