HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University baseball program was able to seal the series win over Catawba on Saturday afternoon after a walk-off single gave LMU game one, 11-10, while Brewer tossed 11 in a tightly contested game two victory, 6-4.
Game One – Lincoln Memorial 11, Catawba 10
The Indians were able to capitalize on some early Railsplitter mistakes, taking an early 2-0 lead before extending their lead by two in the fourth on a fielding error by the Railsplitters, allowing Catawba to take a 4-0 lead into the middle innings.
The Railsplitter offense got going in the third as the Indian pitcher hit
Andrew Keene to start the bottom of the third. A
Tyler Boyd single to center allowed Keene to get all the way to third, giving the Splitters runners on the corners.
Lincoln Memorial tallied their first run to cut into the Catawba lead on a
Collin Goda single to left that brought in Keene and kept runners in scoring position. The Indians were able to get back-to-back strikeouts, but the momentum wuickly shifted back to LMU after a failed pick off attempt by Catawba set up the runners in scoring position. A
Carson Boles single to right center allowed Goda and Boyd to tag home, cutting the Indian lead to one, 4-3.
The Indians responded in the fourth, quickly extending their lead to 6-3 over LMU by the Railsplitter defense was able to force the ground out to send the Blue and Gray bats to the plate. A pitching change by Catawba was able to calm the LMU offense down heading into the fifth.
Catawba was able to put another run on the board in the fifth on a RBI single from the Indians' shortstop, but the Railsplitters were able to tally one in the fifth as
Collin Goda sent the ball over the left center wall to bring the score to 7-4 CAT.
Another run in the sixth saw the Indians' lead rise to 8-4, but Lincoln Memorial had different thoughts in the bottom of the frame. Getting runners on early, Boles and
Ryan Kurth notched back-to-back hits before a
Kasten Harvey single brought in Boles and gave the 'Splitters runners in scoring position. Keene came up to plate and sent the next pitch straight over the centerfield wall for a two-run home run to bring the score to 8-all.
Lincoln Memorial was able to take their first lead of the game on a sacrifice fly by Boles in the bottom of the seventh, bringing in
Chris Hall in the process.
Catawba reclaimed the lead in the top of the ninth on a two RBI single by Driver, but Lincoln Memorial was able to connect in the bottom of the frame.
Hall got things going with a single through the middle before being able to advance to second on a passed ball.
Cameron Bowen then singled to left field, giving LMU two runners on with
Carson Boles up to bat. The Indians decided to intentionally walk Boles, loading the bases.
Ryan Kurth then notched an RBI single, tying the contest up at 10-all with
Sam Mast at the plate to bat. Taking a pitch, Mast was able to get the hit right over the third baseman for a single allowing the Railsplitters to walk-off the Indians in game one, 11-10.
Game Two – Lincoln Memorial 6, Catawba 4
The Indians struck first in game two on the afternoon, and they did so in the third as the contest started out with a pitcher's duel between
Alex Brewer and Mason Gywn. Catawba was able to get runners in scoring position before a sacrifice fly by Mills gave the Indians a 1-0 lead after three innings.
The Railsplitters answered just an inning later after
Carson Boles started the fourth with a double to left center before
Kasten Harvey was able to lay lumber and drill one up the middle for a RBI single, evening game two at 1-all.
Just an inning later and with
Tucker Hagan up to bat, the Owensboro, Ky. native, notched his first career home run as he belted the first pitch straight over the left field wall to give the Railsplitters a 2-1 lead, which they held the remainder of the contest.
Lincoln Memorial extended their lead in the sixth as they were able to get runners on early before a pitching change by Catawba, but the Railsplitter bats did not shy away as Harvey was able to knock a single down the left field line, scoring one run in the process. Keene then tripled down the left field line, notching two RBIs and giving the Railsplitters a 5-1 lead, before a Hagan sacrifice fly pushed the lead to 6-1 later on.
Catawba found some offense in the seventh but Brewer and the Railsplitter defense were able to calm down to force the fly out to give LMU the 6-4 win. Brewer notched his third win of the season and tallied 11 punchouts in a complete game of work.
Up Next
The Railsplitters will hit the road and take a break from conference play as they head to the Peach State for a midweek affair with Young Harris on Wednesday, April 6. First pitch is slated for 3:00 p.m. in Young Harris, Ga.
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.
