GAFFNEY, S.C. – Gathering their 16^th and 17^th South Atlantic Conference wins of the season in their first ever meeting against Limestone as a member of the league, the eighth-ranked Lincoln Memorial University softball program outlasted the Saints on the road Friday evening, extending their nation-best win total to 29 in the process.

Able to reach deep into their clutch genes on consecutive outcomes, the Lady Railsplitters (29-4, 17-3 SAC) landed a pair of runs in the 3^rd and 6^th stanzas across the opener to deal Limestone a 4-2 defeat to open the doubleheader, which was pushed forward 24 hours due to a thunderstorm forecast over the rest of the weekend. LMU enjoyed a stroke of good luck in the Palmetto State nightcap, grabbing a 6-5 victory despite giving up their highest hit total in a single game over the entire semester thus far.

Pushing its winning streak to four with six meetings remaining on the spring schedule, Head Coach Ritchie Richardson's squad exited a 38-hit series unscathed and with their 11^th sweep of the year. With the final three opponents on the radar all coming to Harrogate next week (where the blue and gray haven't lost in over 14 months), LMU has amassed at least a five-game lead over every other team in the conference, aiming for their second ever SAC regular season crown.
 
Game 1 – No. 8 Lincoln Memorial def. Limestone 4-2
 
While the majority of the batting dexterity was saved for the closer on both sides, the Lady Railsplitters were able to shake a 2-2 tie in the top of the 6^th period with a pair of runs as time began to play a more critical role, staving off the Saints in large part due to another sterling performance in the circle from sophomore Emma Frost.

As two-thirds of the team's first three batters in the lineup, Ty-Kella Goins and Sierra Hucklebee combined for a 4-8 showing at bat next to two RBI. Add on senior Audrey Petoskey's 12^th home run of the spring in the 6^th frame and the Lady Railsplitters had just enough to grab their first road win in 10 days on seven hits.

Limestone would seize an early lead in both bouts on Friday, collecting a 1-0 advantage in the opener on an RBI-ground out in the 1^st inning that brought Ashley Parnell to home plate. LMU countered with their first lead of the day two periods later, courtesy of a straight line single from Hucklebee to score Goins and a wild pitch that brought rightfielder Grace Cochran home.

Both of the Saints' scores in Game 1 occurred in non-hit fashion, as the score was quickly knotted up at two apiece thanks to a sacrifice fly ball that allowed Jaylin Adkins to sprint home. The 2-2 tie wouldn't read for long, however.

Stepping up to bat to lead off the 6^th, Petoskey let loose her only hit of the afternoon past the centerfield wall, recording the 18^th long-ball for the Highland, Mich. native over the past two seasons. By the time Goins swung an RBI-single for Kelsie Tuggle to stretch the lead to a deuce just five batters later, LMU had already achieved win #28 in 2021.

The number seven proved to be a common theme in Frost's box in Game 1, representing the same number of hits allowed and strikeouts on her way to the pitcher's 13^th individual victory of the spring. Unbeknownst to the Lady Railsplitters at the time, Frost's services would be required over the final two innings of the ensuing matchup once both teams started throwing haymakers at one another in the second half of the DH.
 
Game 2 – No. 8 Lincoln Memorial def. Limestone 6-5
 
Shuffling through three different pitchers, including Frost's return, in a bout that featured 24 combined hits and 11 runs overall, LMU was able to again withstand a quirky Limestone offense by holding the Saints scoreless over the final six outs to snatch their 17^th South Atlantic Conference W of the season.

Altogether, nine runs were poured in over the first three innings of the nightcap, kicked off with junior catcher McKenzie Henry's leftfield single to score Cochran in the top of the 1^st. Parnell put Limestone on the board later that same inning, reaching her second run of the day on an RBI single via Vic Brewington.

Mirroring Petoskey from earlier on in the afternoon, Goins catapulted a solo homer in the 2^nd stanza to thrust the Lady Railsplitters back on top 2-1, although the seesaw nature of the contest allotted the Saints with the opportunity to regain the advantage in the bottom of that same frame. Eryn Butler tied the game up at two on another RBI-single to the right side, as things began to look rather grim for the blue and gray as they had given up one run each in the first two innings without an out. While Marli Hanks was able to race to home and hand Limestone a 3-2 lead in the next at-bat, an LMU double play and line out to first base ensured that the damage wouldn't enlarge past anything flirtatious.

In the fifth consecutive trip at bat with at least one run accounted for, Kelsey Hoskins helped LMU climb back on top with a leftfield double that scored Emma Webb, the junior's second 2B of the spring and first of two hits in the game. Bella Buccellato did the exact same thing in the next swing, doubling to the same spot on the field to bring Petoskey around the diamond.

The Saints wouldn't surrender too easily despite the early 5-3 hole, as Brewington drew up the third solo HR of the doubleheader in the second at-bat of the bottom of the 3^rd, keeping Limestone within striking distance. Once both teams contributed one more run each in the 5^th inning, that was close as the hometown team would get in their attempt to avoid the sweep.

Goins' third and final RBI of the road trip provided Tuggle with her second score of the contest two chapters after the run onslaught that started the game off. While Desiree Bain was able to nudge the lead back to just one on a single later that same inning, the Saints would fall one run shy of completing the rally, silenced from that point.

Similar to the second outing against Anderson 48 hours prior, when the Lady Railsplitters pulled out the win despite only tallying three hits, LMU was fortunate to hold on to the one-run victory based on the 13-hit accumulation scooped up by Limestone.

Bailey Griffith, Victoria Conley, and Frost each spent exactly the same amount of time on the field at 2.1 innings apiece, as Conley moved to 3-0 personally in the midst of her freshman stint with the blue and gray. After stepping out of the dugout back into the fire to help close the sweep out, Frost rounded up her fourth save of 2021.
 
Up Next
 
Kickstarting the team's busy week as they await the final six games before the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, LMU prepares to meet an in-state foe they've already battled once this spring, hosting the King Tornado on Tuesday at Dorothy Neely Field for a 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. two-parter.

Six and a half weeks back, Coach Richardson's squad got the better of King in Bristol towards the tail end of February, sweeping the Conference Carolinas opponent 3-1 and 7-6 for their 10^th and 11^th straight wins to open up the year. Since then, the Tornado have reached a record of 18-10 next to a 10-4 mark versus league schools.

Not only do the Lady Railsplitters possess the highest number of wins in all of NCAA Division II following the sweep over Limestone, but LMU also maintains the longest home winning streak in the nation at 23 games dating back to February of 2020. The blue and gray have been impeccable in Harrogate through 15 games, going undefeated on their own field while outscoring the other side by an absurd margin of 105-23.
 
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.