BRISTOL, Tenn. – Eclipsing the team's most productive start to a season in a full decade, the Lincoln Memorial University softball squad ventured to King on Wednesday and picked up their third and fourth wins in a 48-hour stretch, improving to 11-0 while boosting their road winning streak to a whopping nine games.

The Lady Railsplitters (11-0, 2-0 SAC), who leapt six spots in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association rankings up to the #14 position, found some daylight in a low scoring Game 1 against the Tornado (3-3) in the form of an Audrey Petoskey two-run homer, helping LMU obtain a 3-1 victory. Following another Petoskey home run in Game 2, the senior's fourth long-ball in two days, the Lady Railsplitters saw a seven-run lead whittled down to one but held on late thanks to eight strikeouts from reliever Emma Frost in just over three innings to win 7-6.
 
Game 1 – No. 14 Lincoln Memorial def. King 3-1
 
Both teams combined for just eight hits in a pitchers' duel between Hayley Tamaro and King's Nikole Counts to get the afternoon started. While Tamaro was able to hold the Tornado without a single hit through the first four innings, the junior's second straight start doing so, Counts would never surrender one earned run from the blue and gray, with the only defensive hiccup for King coming in the top of the 5^th on Petoskey's center field homer.

After the first four innings left both units in a scoreless tie, junior shortstop Sierra Hucklebee reached on a fielder's choice to first base, then caught King napping to steal second moments later. Another FC, this time with McKenzie Henry batting, sent Hucklebee to third before a throwing error by the shortstop inadvertently gave LMU the 1-0 lead.

As Henry still stood on first, Petoskey's third dinger in as many games brought the deficit to three. Entrusting Tamaro and junior reliever Bailey Griffith to secure the win with the offense not producing to its usual standards, the Lady Railsplitters found solace in just one run allowed in the bottom of the 5^th.

Samantha Helms' RBI double stood as the only blemish to LMU's defensive performance in Game 1, as a Hucklebee-Emma Webb double play connection in the bottom of the 6^th frame helped the Lady Railsplitters avoid a King rally and stay ahead by a deuce.

Petoskey, Webb, Hucklebee, and Sami West represented LMU's four hits in the victory, the latter standing as the first of the 2021 season for the junior leftfielder.

While Griffith was credited for the save in helping LMU reach a win total of double digits before the end of February, Tamaro was credited with the W, matching Griffith in terms of personal record at 3-0.

By virtue of the two-run triumph, the Lady Railsplitters matched their 10-0 start from the 2011 campaign after beginning the 2020 stretch 11-1. They would do one better than that season a decade ago in Game 2 that shortly followed.
 
Game 2 – No. 14 Lincoln Memorial def. King 7-6
 
Disaster nearly struck for LMU after a comfortable 7-0 lead quickly fell by the wayside, however the blue and gray was able to regain their composure over the final three innings of the second half of the DH, pulling out its fourth consecutive win over King in the process.

The lightbulb came on for the Lady Railsplitter offense in the top of the 3^rd where it had been struggling beforehand, whipping off five unanswered scores punctuated by the fourth Petoskey HR of the past two days.

True freshman Victoria Conley made her second career start in the circle and held the Tornado without a hit through the first three periods. In the top half of the 3^rd, a Webb two-RBI double to right field scored Hucklebee and second baseman Ty-Kella Goins, opening the door for the Petoskey home run that also scored Webb and Henry.

As quickly as the lead grew to 5-0, it extended to a seven-score cushion after two more Lady Railsplitters runs in the top of the 4^th stanza. Hucklebee's second hit of the day brought Goins around the bases on an RBI-double, allowing Petoskey to notch her fourth RBI of the contest via an RBI ground out that scored senior Grace Cochran.

The wheels momentarily fell off for LMU in the bottom half of that same inning, however. Eleven at-bats for King in the 4^th led to a six-run burst to suddenly trim the deficit to a single run. All seven of the Tornado's hits in the entire game occurred in the 4^th-inning onslaught.

Seven different King performers recorded one hit each, landing six RBI in the 4^th period alone. Luckily for the Lady Railsplitters, Frost stepped into the pitching spot to fan eight different batters from that point, including a swing of five straight K's before the final out of the game.

Frost moves to 4-0 on the season, having retired 19 batters in the last two days. LMU, in addition to winning their last 15 contests in Harrogate, have emerged victorious in each of their last nine road games dating back to March 2020. They have now won four different contests by a margin of one run.
 
Up Next
 
Completing their busy stint of playing eight games in a five-day span and coming out on top in each of those occasions, the Lady Railsplitters will return to Dorothy Neely Field on Sunday afternoon to meet Lees-McRae in another non-conference two-parter.

Holding an 11-3 all-time record against the Bobcats, LMU puts their seven-game winning streak over Lees-McRae on the line in the final doubleheader of the month of February. After sweeping the Conference Carolinas representative in 2019 by margins of 7-6 and 6-3, the Lady Railsplitters were unable to play Lees-McRae last spring due to the season's premature cancellation.

First pitch from Game 1 at Dorothy Neely Field is slotted for a 1:00 p.m. start time, followed by Game 2 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.