HARROGATE, Tenn. – After 11 long months, America's favorite pastime will officially be back in Harrogate come Friday afternoon. A lot has changed over the last 11 months but when ball meets leather at Lamar Hennon Field as Lincoln Memorial University takes on Catawba College Friday at 4 p.m. there will be a sense of normalcy in the air.
 
On March 11, 2020, the Railsplitters swept Kentucky State in a non-conference home doubleheader, less than 48 hours later LMU's 2020 quest was over. Having won four of their last five games and coming off a South Atlantic Conference series win over Carson-Newman University the previous weekend, the Railsplitters' would-be next opponent was nationally-ranked Catawba. Friday afternoon LMU will take on the Indians as the Justin Haywood era begins. The first-year head coach took over the reins of the Railsplitter program last April after spending seven seasons on staff beginning as a graduate assistant and serving as LMU's top assistant and recruiting coordinator.
 
Catawba enters the weekend ranked No. 8 in the nation according to the 2021 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) NCAA Division II Preseason Poll and is No. 10 in Collegiate Baseball's preseason rankings. Having won seven regular season league titles in the last 10 years, the Indians were picked as preseason favorites in the 13-team SAC for the ninth consecutive season.
 
Without Catawba appearing on the Railsplitters' 2021 conference slate, Friday's tilt will serve as a non-conference game.
 
Friday's matchup with the Indians will be streamed on Facebook Live via LMU Athletics' page - @LMURailsplitters. Live statistics of the game can be followed by visiting LMURailsplitters.com.  
 
Limited Attendance
Due to the ongoing public health crisis of the COVID-19 global pandemic, LMU Athletics has a revised attendance policy for home baseball games during the 2021 season. Lamar Hennon Field will have a limited capacity in an effort of promoting and prioritizing the health and safety of student-athletes and game day personnel. The following groups of individuals are the only permitted attendees for home baseball games at Lamar Hennon Field: student-athlete pass list designees, L Club members, 50 students, dignitaries and game day personnel. In line with LMU's COVID-19 policies and protocols, specific guidelines have been outlined to keep the health and safety of the LMU community the athletic department's top priority. For LMU Athletics' complete COVID-19 game day policies for outdoor venues, please click here.
 
LMU was selected to finish seventh in the SAC following a vote by the league's head coaches after going 3-6 in league action and 10-14 overall in 2020. Led by graduate infielder Tyler Adams and graduate catcher Dalton Dedas, both of whom are preseason All-SAC selections, the Railsplitters return 24 letter winners while welcoming 14 newcomers to this year's roster.
 
A three-time All-SAC performer and three-time all-region pick, Adams is a preseason All-SAC First Team honoree at third base, while Dedas was named to the preseason All-SAC Second Team. Adams is the program's all-time leader in doubles (52) and is among the top six in school history in five other offensive categories, including bases (third), home runs (fourth), runs scored (fifth), RBI (sixth) and hits (tied fifth). Dedas is tied for ninth in program history in base runners caught stealing (25) and is sixth in total putouts (672), while owning a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage without an error in the field over the last four seasons.
 
Graduate outfielder Brent Richey looks to have another outstanding season after leading LMU at the plate last year with an impressive .349 batting average, .663 slugging percentage and .467 on-base percentage. The Knoxville, Tennessee, native was eighth in the nation in 2020 with 30 runs scored and had already blasted seven home runs, the 16th-most in Division II baseball, before the COVID-19 global pandemic shut the season down.
 
The three-time SAC Tournament champion Railsplitters return seven starting positional players and four starting pitchers this spring after making an appearance in each of the last three NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championships. Featuring the 11th-best Division II recruiting class in the nation according to Perfect Game, LMU's newcomers are comprised of 12 freshmen and a pair of transfers.
 
The Railsplitters will be attempting to reach 30 wins for the fourth time in five seasons after claiming at least 34 victories for three consecutive years from 2017-19 and capturing back-to-back SAC Tournament titles in 2017 and 2018.
 
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 2021 season, including any schedule changes.
 
LMU Diamond Club
Register to become an LMU Diamond Club member today. All LMU Diamond Club members receive exclusive benefits depending on membership level, including invitations to special events, in-season updates on the state of the baseball program, LMU Diamond Club gear, reserved Lamar Hennon Field seating, unique gameday experiences, all-access game packages, and name display on the LMU Diamond Club board at Lamar Hennon Field. Become an LMU Diamond Club member today by visiting LMURailsplitters.com.