Harrogate, TN - After dropping a hard fought midweek game against the #2 North Greenville Crusaders on Wednesday, the Lincoln Memorial baseball team was back at home for a Saturday double header with in-conference opponent Wingate. The Railsplitters ripped through the Bulldogs, outscoring them 22-6 in two games on Saturday. Lincoln Memorial has been putting on an absolute clinic hitting the ball, scoring 72 runs in the last seven games.

Game one was a precursor for how the day would go for Lincoln Memorial. Following two quiet innings, the Railsplitters' bats erupted in the bottom of the third, rattling off six runs in the inning. Chris Hall got things started with a two run blast, driving in Sam Mast, giving Lincoln Memorial a 2-0 lead. Cameron Bowen then connected on a single to left field, bringing Kasten Harvey home. Austin Epperson then drove in Carson Boles with a single. Tucker Hagan reached base on an error, allowing Bowen to round home plate. Mast delivered a single to left, driving in Epperson, giving the Railsplitters their sixth run of the inning, taking a commanding 6-0 lead. Wingate cut into the deficit in the top of the fourth, driving in two runs, but that would be all the Bulldogs could muster for the game. With the score sitting at 6-2, Lincoln Memorial added six more runs across the final four innings. Epperson connected on a two run shot, driving in Bowen. It was the second home run of the game for the Railsplitters. Not to be outdone, Harvey connected on a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth, further extending the Lincoln Memorial lead to 9-2. Hall wasn't finished as he drove in Ryan Kurth and Hagan to give the Railsplitters an 11-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh. After retiring the Bulldog offense, Bowen drove in Boles for the game winning run, seeing Lincoln Memorial run-rule Wingate in the eighth inning, taking a 12-2 victory in game one. Hall was only a triple away from hitting for the cycle.

Pencek pitched a superb game in game one, pitching a complete game, allowing six hits, two runs, and two earned runs with zero walks and six strikeouts. He forced eight fly-outs and nine ground-outs.

Wingate: 000 200 00 2 6 1
Lincoln Memorial: 006 021 21 12 12 0

WP: Pencek (6-0)
LP: Hoover (4-1)

Game two was similar to game one. If you're a fan of offense in baseball, Harrogate was the place to be Saturday evening. The Lincoln Memorial bats were nearly smoking they were so hot in game one, and remained so in game two. It was evident from the jump that the Railsplitters were swinging for the fences, scoring seven runs in the first inning of game two. Boles singled to drive in Deatric Alexander Jr. for the first run of game two. Moments later, Epperson drove in Boles to give Lincoln Memorial a 2-0 lead. Already leading 2-0, Mast decided to add some insurance runs to the line score, blasting a grand slam in the first inning, driving in Hagan, Kurth, and Epperson. Alexander added a single to drive in Collin Goda, giving the Railsplitters a commanding 7-0 lead after one inning. The Bulldogs added a run in the second to cut the deficit to 7-1. The Railsplitters added three more runs in the second inning to extend the lead to 10-1. Hagan drove in Epperson on a single and Mast drove in Hagan and Kurth with a double, giving Lincoln Memorial its final run of the game. Although the Bulldogs were able to add three more runs throughout the remaining five innings, the Railsplitters had already taken care of business with a massive first inning, allowing them to secure the win in game two, 10-4. 

Eli Edds pitched 5.2 innings, allowing nine hits, four runs, and four earned runs with two walks and six strikeouts. He forced five fly-outs and six ground-outs. Colin Murphy closed the game, pitching 1.1 innings, allowing zero hits, zero runs, and zero earned runs with one walk and one strikeout. He forced one fly-out and two ground-outs.

Wingate: 011 020 0 4 9 0
Lincoln Memorial: 730 000 x 10 13 0

WP: Edds (4-3)
LP: Dotson (3-2)

Following the back-to-back victories, Lincoln Memorial improved to 18-7 on the season with a 10-4 mark in conference play. The wins against Wingate were the first time all season that the Bulldogs had dropped a road conference game. Also with the victory, head coach Justin Haywood moved into 6th all-time on the Lincoln Memorial wins list for baseball head coaches.

Lincoln Memorial will look to complete the sweep on Sunday, with first pitch slated for 1:00 PM in Harrogate.