HARROGATE, Tenn. – Clinching their 12^th and 13^th consecutive wins at Dorothy Neely Field in day two of a three-team non-conference invitational, the 20^th-ranked Lincoln Memorial University softball squad eked out a pair of victories over Ohio Dominican and Davenport to stay undefeated at 7-0.

The Lady Railsplitters withstood a late Davenport (2-2) rally in the first contest of the afternoon, holding onto a 3-2 decision before besting ODU (0-4) in their fourth game of the weekend by a 4-3 margin after senior rightfielder Grace Cochran bombed a two-RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth frame to give LMU the lead for good, their 12^th straight win overall dating back to March 2020.
 
Game 1 – No. 20 Lincoln Memorial def. Davenport 3-2
 
LMU's third, fourth, and fifth batters in the lineup combined for a 6-9 showing at the plate in the team's second win over Davenport in as many days, as the trio of Sierra Hucklebee, Emma Webb, and McKenzie Henry totaled three RBI next to three doubles and a triple. Both Webb and senior Audrey Petoskey doubled in the bottom of the 2^nd, although the Lady Railsplitters couldn't capitalize with two runners on base, leading to a scoreless tie approaching the 3^rd stanza.

After three straight 1-2-3 innings defensively, LMU ramped up their batting power even further by racing out to a 3-0 cushion. Once second baseman Ty-Kella Goins reached first on an ODU throwing error, Hucklebee singled to third base to secure the first run of the afternoon.

Hucklebee sprinted all the way to home plate from first base in the next at-bat after Webb torched a triple to right field, one of three triples in the doubleheader for the blue and gray. Henry stepped up as the ensuing batter to launch an RBI-double to the opposite side of the field, giving the Lady Railsplitters the three-run advantage.

Despite a few more chances throughout the rest of the game, LMU wouldn't add to their scoring total over their remaining three trips at bat. Luckily, junior pitcher Hayley Tamaro was lights out in her first start of 2021, not surrendering a Panther hit until the 5^th inning on her way to six total strikeouts for her second win of the season in the circle.

A pop-up to Goins and a ground out to Hucklebee in the top of the 5^th denied Davenport their first significant shot at threatening the LMU lead, leaving behind two runners on 2^nd and 3^rd base. The Panthers wouldn't come up empty again in the 6^th frame, however.

Catching the LMU defense off guard after a successful stolen base by Rachel Griffin, Davenport's Monica Meger was able to seize the moment and steal home plate in the top of the 6^th to cut the lead to 3-1. Moments later, Lindsay Goodman singled down the leftfield line to bring Griffin around the diamond and the Panthers within one score.

Tamaro was able to keep Davenport at bay with a strikeout to close the 6^th, and the Panthers would be silenced for good after reliever Emma Frost stepped in to go after the save in the top of the 7^th.

Ellie Muilenberg took the loss for DU at the pitching spot, throwing all six innings while allowing seven hits. Tamaro improves to 2-0 in the circle after scooping up the save in LMU's season-opening win over Maryville (Mo.) as the Lady Railsplitters picked up the win by a one-run difference for the second time in 2021. The third occasion was soon to follow against Ohio Dominican.
 
Game 2 – No. 20 Lincoln Memorial def. Ohio Dominican 4-3
 
Cochran landed a pair of hits in the Saturday doubleheader, with the latter serving as possibly the biggest of the young season for the Lady Railsplitters with the 6^th-inning triple that brought Hucklebee and Petoskey around the bases. Before that point, LMU had trailed by a slim 3-2 deficit for the prior five periods.

Making her first collegiate start for the blue and gray, freshman pitcher Victoria Conley was rattled early on by an ODU offense that unleashed three consecutive runs in the very first frame. However, the LMU newcomer settled in from there, not giving up a single Panther score for the rest of the day, while the Lady Railsplitters ended the weekend on a 4-0 run, grabbing their seventh straight win to open the schedule.

LMU wouldn't tarry in making up the three-run deficit, which stood as their largest hole in four games. With junior Kelsie Tuggle already on base thanks to a walk, Hucklebee notched her third hit of the afternoon in the form of a left field double. Two batters later, Henry whittled the lead down to one on an RBI-single.

The two-run flurry in the opening frame marked the sixth time out of seven appearances in 2021 that the Lady Railsplitters have scored at least once in the first inning. After three straight innings of zeros on the scoreboard, Cochran produced arguably the defensive play of the weekend in the 5^th, right before nailing the biggest shot of the season thus far one inning later.

In a dangerous position to extend its tight lead, Ohio Dominican's Carson Hackerd slammed a high ball to right field that seemingly came inches away from usurping the outfield wall. Cochran quickly relocated to snag the ball at the last second, concluding the 5^th inning with one runner left on base for ODU.

In the top of the 6^th, Hucklebee prevented further damage from the Panthers with a double play to Webb to keep the score within one. In the fifth at-bat of the inning, Cochran gave the Lady Railsplitters their first lead of the contest, where it would stay for the rest of the afternoon.

Similar to Frost's relieving of Tamaro in Game 1, junior pitcher Bailey Griffith replaced Conley for the final lap after the freshman bounced back from the shaky beginning to only surrender five hits. Griffith struck out her first batter before putting a bow on LMU's 13^th straight home victory with a ground out to Webb.

Four different Panthers recorded a hit in the loss, led by Madison Shemwell's 2-3 effort at the plate. Pitching all six innings, Olivia Rettke was saddled with the L in the circle.
 
Up Next
 
Hoisting their winning streak up to 12, the Lady Railsplitters will stay in Harrogate for the third date in a row, welcoming South Atlantic Conference opponent UVA Wise to Dorothy Neely Field for LMU's first SAC doubleheader of 2021 on Tuesday afternoon.

The Cavaliers have begun the season with a record of 1-2-1 after dropping a pair of road contests to King in Bristol, Tenn. by the near identical scores of 3-2 and 3-1. The impromptu matchup with LMU was announced on Sunday morning.

First pitch with UVA Wise is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., before the second outing gets underway at approximately 3:00.
 
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 2021 season.