Greenwood, SC - After securing a 6-3 victory in game one of the weekend series, the Lincoln Memorial baseball team split the Saturday double header against Lander to finish 2-1 against the Bearcats in the weekend series. With both victories and the loss, the Railsplitters moved to 5-2 on the season.
Game two of the series belonged solely to Lincoln Memorial, as the Railsplitters charged to a 13-5 victory in Saturday's first game.
Lincoln Memorial got things started in the top of the first as Cam Bowen drove in
Carson Boles and
Kasten Harvey on a single up the gut, giving the Railsplitters an early 2-0 lead. After retiring the side, the Bearcats took over on the sticks, knotting the game at 2-2 after the first inning on a pair of singles. The Railsplitters completely dominated the game from the fourth through sixth innings, accruing eight runs across the span. With neither team found any offense through the second and third innings.
In the fourth, Mast brought in LaMattina on a sac-fly, giving Lincoln Memorial the lead, 3-2. Moments later, first basemen
Ryan Kurth drove in Bowen to extend the Railsplitter lead to 4-2. After holding the Bearcats to nothing, Lincoln Memorial got back to work in the fifth. LaMattina connected on a sac-fly to bring Harvey home, extending the lead to 5-2. Bowen then brought Boles home on a single to further extend the lead to 6-4 in favor of the Railsplitters. After retiring the Bearcats again, Lincoln Memorial played its best inning of the game in the sixth, driving in four runs to take a 10-4 lead. In the sixth, Boles singled to right field, bringing home
Chris Hall and Colin Goda. LaMattina homered in the sixth, connecting on a two run shot, bringing home Boles.
Lander added two runs in the seventh to make the score look more respectable, but the damage had been done. Boles added a home in the eighth inning, extending the Railsplitter lead to 12-5 on a two run shot. In the ninth inning, Lincoln Memorial saw its final run of the game when Hall drove in DJ Alexander, bringing the score to its final of 13-5.
Christian Pencek was credited with the win, going for 6.0 IP with five hits, five runs, four earned runs, and one walk with six strikeouts.
Aiden Carter was brought in to close, pitching the final inning, allowing one hit.
The third and final game of the weekend series belonged to Lander. Lincoln Memorial took an early lead, but the Bearcats stormed back in emphatic fashion, taking the third and final game 19-5. The Railsplitters started things off in the second inning as Kurth tripled to center field, bringing home DJ Alexander Jr. to take an early 1-0 lead.
Tyler Boyd then singled to left, bringing Kurth home to take a 2-0 lead.
Chris Hall kept things going in the second inning, connecting on a triple that brought home Colin Goa and Boyd, giving Lincoln Memorial an early 4-0 lead.
However, Lander responded with two runs in the bottom of the second to cut the deficit to 4-2. Lincoln Memorial scored its final run in the third as
Carson Boles scored on a wild pitch. From there, the Bearcats poured on the runs, including an 11-run sixth inning, securing a 19-5 victory in the final game of the series, seeing the Railsplitters move to 5-2 overall on the season.
The Railsplitters open conference play on the road at Mars Hill next weekend.
