HARROGATE, Tenn. – Despite most of the contest being a battle on the mound, the Lincoln Memorial University baseball program's bats got hot at the right time as Kasten Harvey was able to knock down the walk-off ground rule double to secure the series opening win over Carson-Newman on Friday night, 3-2.
 
The Eagles' offense got to work in the first as they laid down a double in the first appearance of the game, but Patrick Queener was able to steady himself to get the last two outs swinging at the plate.
 
Carson-Newman was able to hold the Railsplitters scoreless in the first, before breaking the scoreless tie in the second on a double by Ricketts, bringing in Griffin.
 
The contest then saw both starting pitchers duel on the mound as Queener was able to see the brighter side as the junior from Brentwood, Tennessee was able to tame the Eagles over the next several innings.
 
Carson-Newman extended their lead by one in the sixth on another double from Ricketts, bringing in Boze to give C-N a 2-0 lead over LMU.
 
Going into the home stretch, the rally caps came out for the Railsplitters and to the bullpen in the seventh as Kevin Norton came on in relief, getting LMU out of a jam in the seventh. Lincoln Memorial was able to respond in the bottom of the inning as Sam Mast took the first pitch beyond the left center wall to cut the Eagle lead to 2-1.
 
The Eagles were able to hold onto the lead heading into the ninth and looked to get some insurance, but Norton and company locked down defensively, striking out two and forcing the Eagles into a ground out to send it to the bottom of the ninth.
 
Carson-Newman was able to the first LMU batter swinging before Ryan Kurth was given first after being hit by a pitch. D.J. Alexander, Jr. came into pinch run for Kurth before being able to score on a Sam Mast double, making the score even at 2-2. Kasten Harvey called game for the Railsplitters as the freshman from South Carolina was able to get the right bounce on the hit to right center to give Lincoln Memorial the walk-off ground rule double win as Mast went onto score, making it 3-2.
 
Up Next
 
The Railsplitters and Eagles will head back out to the park on Saturday, March 26 for a doubleheader to complete the series. First pitch of the day is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Lamar Hennon Field.
 
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 through the 2022 season.