Harrogate, TN - One day after dropping game one to the visiting Carson-Newman Eagles, the Lincoln Memorial baseball team split Saturday's double header with the Eagles, taking game two 16-7, and dropping game three 3-2, dropping the series 2-1.
In game two, the Lincoln Memorial bats got hot, seeing the Railsplitters score 16 or more runs for the seventh time this season. It's also the 15th time that Lincoln Memorial has score 10 or more runs this season. The teams matched each other evenly through the first three innings, holding each other scoreless in the first, adding one run each in the second, and tallying three runs apiece in the third to see the score knotted at 4-4 heading into the fourth inning. In the second inning,
Deatric Alexander Jr. drove in
Alex Kowalski. in the bottom of the third,
Kasten Harvey drove in
Collin Goda and
Cameron Bowen cracked a two-run homer to drive in
Carson Boles. The Eagles were held scoreless in the top of the fourth and the Railsplitters added another run in the bottom of the inning to take their first lead of the game, 5-4, when Harvey doubled to left center to drive in
Mitch Petzelt. Similarly to the fourth inning, Lincoln Memorial held Carson-Newman at the top of the inning and added to its run total in the bottom of the inning.
Sam Mast doubled to center field to drive in
Ryan Kurth and Kowalski, extending the lead to 7-4. The sixth inning was the same as the Railsplitters forced the Eagles to a goose egg in the top of the sixth, but added another run in the bottom of the inning when Kowalski drove in Harvey with a single, giving the Railspliters an 8-4 lead. Carson-Newman found some offense in the top of the seventh, connecting on a three run shot to cut the lead to 8-7. It was the closest the Eagles would come to taking the lead for the remainder of the game as they failed to add another run throughout the game while Lincoln Memorial doubled its run total in the final two innings. Seeing the Eagles drive in three runs in the top of the seventh, the Railsplitters responded in-kind with three runs of their own. Boles drove in Petzelt with a sac-fly, Kowalski drove in Goda with a single, and Kurth reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Harvey to cross home plate, re-extending the Lincoln Memorial lead to 11-7. The Railsplitters exploded for five runs in the eighth inning to ice the game. Petzelt drove in Alexander, then scored himself on a wild pitch. Boles drove in Goda with a single, Kowalski drove in Bowen with a single, and Kurth drove in Kowalski with a double for the game's final run, seeing Lincoln Memorial secure a 16-7 victory.
Eli Edds pitched 6.1 innings, allowing six hits, seven runs, and five earned runs with four walks and eight strikeouts.
Colin Murphy pitched 2.2 innings in relief, allowing one hit, no runs, and no earned runs with one walk and three strikeouts.
CN: 013 000 300 7 7 1
LMU: 013 131 35x 16 18 1
WP: Murphy (5-5)
LP: Higgins (1-2)
Game three had a much different feel to it than the rest of the series. After seeing the Eagles tally double digit runs in the first game and the Railsplitters tally double digit runs in the second game, the teams combined for five runs in the final installment of the series as it went down-to-the-wire. Carson-Newman did its damage in the second inning, scoring two of its three runs. Lincoln Memorial responded in the third inning with two runs of its own when
Cameron Bowen ripped a two run shot to drive in
Kasten Harvey. The game remained quiet until the sixth inning when the Eagles connected on a home run to give them a 3-2 lead, securing the series victory.
Ethan Bobo pitched 5.0 innings, allowing seven hits, three runs, and three earned runs with one walk and eight strikeouts.
Aiden Carter pitched two innings in relief.
CN: 020 001 00 3 7 0
LMU: 002 000 00 2 7 0
WP: Hughes (7-3)
LP: Bobo (2-3)
