HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University Baseball team wasn't able to close out a pivotal South Atlantic Conference weekend slate against their closest rival, as the Carson-Newman Eagles dealt the Railsplitters a 7-4 defeat in Sunday afternoon's series finale from Lamar Hennon Field.

Although LMU's six-game winning streak over the Eagles came to an end in Game 3, with Carson-Newman out-hitting the Railsplitters 12-4, Lincoln Memorial still has the last laugh by winning the previous afternoon's games in commanding fashion, going 2-1 in the SAC set.
 
Game 3 – Carson-Newman def. Lincoln Memorial 7-4
 
For the third consecutive time, Carson-Newman (15-8, 5-4 SAC) was able to reach a head start in the top of the first inning, securing three runs in their first turn at bat. Thanks to a pair of RBI singles in the opening stanza, the Eagles managed to score a grand total of 10 runs in the first inning over the two-day span.

Luckily for the Railsplitters (8-14, 3-6 SAC), the blue and gray was able to match that output in the bottom of the same inning. Senior shortstop Tyler Adams brought home Brent Richey on an RBI-double to get that flurry started, before Dalton Dedas reached on an Eagles infield error to bring LMU within one. Adams was then able to find home plate thanks to a sacrifice fly ball from Scooter Ray, evening the score at three apiece after one frame.

Both squads traded runs throughout the next two innings, as senior Nate Stinson was able to slide into home in the bottom of the third to bring the score to another stalemate at 4-4. This would be the final time that the Railsplitters were able to add to the scoreboard for the afternoon, however, as the final three runs of the day went in favor of the Eagles.

The first batter in the top of the fourth aired a solo home run to surge Carson-Newman ahead for the remainder of the contest. Two more runs in the next period would be all that the Eagles needed to break their recent string of losses to LMU, courtesy of a ground out that scored a runner from third, along with a wild pitch.

Altogether, Lincoln Memorial was only able to reach four hits as a unit, with one each from Stinson, Adams, and the true freshmen combo of Sam Mast and Collin Goda. With six different pitchers seeing playing time, Kevin Norton was tagged with the loss on the mound in 1 & 2/3 innings of work, seeing relief from four others as the game wore on.

Neither side was able to find a run over the final four frames on Sunday, but despite the loss, the Railsplitters were able to grab some much-needed momentum in their early conference schedule based on the previous day's run party in back-to-back high-scoring wins.
 
Up Next
 
Taking a quick break from SAC competition in the middle of the week by closing out a six-game home stand, LMU will host the Kentucky State Thorobreds Wednesday afternoon in a non-conference doubleheader at 1:00 and 4:00 p.m.

The Railsplitters have utterly dominated KSU in the all-time series, holding a record of 25-1, winners of the last six meetings. After winning their first 19 against the Thorobreds, Kentucky State managed their only win over LMU back in 2015, 7-5. Lincoln Memorial swept KSU in the 2018 series 10-1 and 11-1, before winning the teams' singular meeting last spring in Harrogate, 16-2.
 
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.