HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University baseball program got home action back in swing, but Catawba was able to hold the Railsplitter comeback back as they tallied three runs in the ninth to take the series opener, 8-5.
It was a pitcher's duel to begin the game as
Patrick Queener got the starting nod for the Railsplitters and was able to hold the Indians hitless over the opening three innings of the contest.
Carson Boles broke the scoring drought in the third with a RBI double to left center, bringing in
Cameron Bowen in the process. Bowen was able to get on base earlier in the frame on a single through the left side. The Indians were able to even things up at 1-all in the fourth on an RBI single by Lara, scoring Jackson.
Catawba broke through with their offense in the fifth as they started the inning off by knocking a single to left field before having a runner in scoring position on a stolen base moments later. A costly error by the Railsplitters allowed the Indians to take the lead, 2-1, over LMU. A double to left field by Miller extended Catawba's lead before Queener got the strike out swinging to end the fifth.
The Railsplitters were able to tally one run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Bowen to bring in
Collin Goda. The Indians were able to respond in the sixth as they pushed their lead back to three on a wild pitch, 5-2.
Lincoln Memorial found their stride in the sixth as
Ryan Kurth notched his third hit of the evening as the first baseman tallied a single to left.
Sam Mast then doubled down the left field line allowing LMU to have both runners in scoring position. Back-to-back sacrifice flies by the Railsplitters allowed them to pull to within one off the Indian lead.
Both pitching rotations were able to settle down heading into the final stretch before the Railsplitters were able to connect in the eighth to even things up at 5-all on an RBI double
Andrew Keene to score
Kasten Harvey.
Catawba was able to make one last offensive push as a wild ninth led the Indians to a three-run inning to take an 8-5 lead before forcing the Splitters into a one, two, three situation to secure the win to open the series.
Up Next
The Railsplitters head back to the diamond on Saturday for a doubleheader matchup with Catawba to close out the series. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. ET 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.
