HARROGATE, Tenn. – After a week off from game action, the Lincoln Memorial University baseball team picked up right where it left off, with a win. The Railsplitters (11-16) returned late Tuesday afternoon from a seven-day break with a 4-2 non-conference victory over Lenoir-Rhyne University at Lamar Hennon Field. Holding the visiting Bears (16-10), who received votes in Tuesday's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Southeast Region Top 10 poll, to only three hits, LMU got a career-high eight strikeouts from redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Alex Brewer.
 
Lining 10 hits on the day, the Railsplitters scored a trio of runs and benefited from three Lenoir-Rhyne errors in the opening inning before graduate designated hitter Dalton Dedas went yard in the bottom of the fourth. The Bears scored in both the top of the fourth and the seventh but LMU's pitching and defense remained solid throughout the entire nine innings.
 
A two-out single to right field from graduate third baseman Tyler Adams got the Railsplitters going in the bottom of the first inning and redshirt sophomore left fielder Andrew Keene drove in Adams on an RBI single up the middle. Dedas then singled to left field before stealing second base and reaching third on a Lenoir-Rhyne throwing error. Keene's steal of third base forced the Bears' first throwing error of the play as Keene headed home for LMU's second run. Moments later, Dedas crossed home plate when redshirt junior first baseman Brandon Parrott reached on an error.
 
With Brewer tossing three innings of one-hit baseball, the Railsplitters didn't give Lenoir-Rhyne much to work with. However, designated hitter Connor Smith got the Bears on the board with a one-out solo home run over the left center field wall in the top of the fourth. Dedas would respond in the bottom frame when he hammered a one-out pitch and bounced his second homer of the season over the left field wall to make it 4-1.
 
Following a pair of scoreless innings, Lenoir-Rhyne got its third and final hit in the top of the seventh with a Smith leadoff triple to right center field. A wild pitch allowed Smith to easily score from third before Brewer shut down the top half of the inning with back-to-back strikeouts.
 
Despite going without a hit in the seventh and eighth, LMU relied on the arms of righty relievers Mason Turner and Eli Wright. Redshirt junior Turner struck out two and redshirt sophomore Wright one as both retired the side in order in the eighth and ninth frames.
 
Adams, Keene and Dedas all went 2-for-4 at the plate with Dedas scoring twice. Smith finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and the Bears' two runs.
 
Going seven full innings, Brewer (1-3) picked up his first win of 2021 on the hill while Wright earned his fifth save of the season.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne right-hander Hayden Gresham (1-1) went four innings with three strikeouts, taking loss on the mound after allowing seven hits and two earned runs. Four different Bear pitchers tossed an inning each in relief.
 
Up Next…
The Railsplitters step back into South Atlantic Conference play this weekend with a four-game series at Carson-Newman University Friday and Saturday, April 2-3. Both days will see a 12 p.m. first pitch of a seven and nine-inning doubleheader at Silver Diamond in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
 
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.