Harrogate, TN – Three days after dropping a three game road series with then-21
st-ranked Carson-Newman, the Lincoln Memorial baseball team was back on its home field for a rematch with the Lee University Flames. When the teams met in early February, Lee got the best of Lincoln Memorial, taking a 5-1 victory in Cleveland. The Railsplitters entered the game with a 9-9 record, including a 4-5 mark in conference play. The Flames were also 9-9, with a 3-6 mark in conference play.
Tuesday's game was a defensive slugfest. Through the first four innings, Lincoln Memorial racked up four hits but left six on base. Lee failed to tally a single hit or get a single runner on base until the seventh inning of action. The Railsplitters struck first in the bottom of the fifth, scoring when
Joey LaMattina delivered a sac-fly to drive in
Archer Wong-Shasteen, giving Lincoln Memorial a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning,
Trace Simmons took home on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 2-0.
The Railsplitters' defense continued to stand tall, holding the Flames scoreless in the top of the sixth inning, while adding two runs in the bottom of the inning to further extend the lead to 4-0.
Brooks Hagedorn drove in
CJ Dugan on a single to center field, and Wong-Shasteen drove in Hagedorn while grounding into a double play to double the Lincoln Memorial score. Lee Managed its first hit of the game in the top of the seventh, tallying two for the inning, but stranded its first two runners on base, leaving the Railsplitters in control, 4-0.
Lincoln Memorial failed to add to the run total in the seventh inning, giving Lee an opportunity to chip into the lead. The Flames added one hit in the eighth inning and saw the bases eventually loaded with a pair of walks, but the Railsplitters got out of the jam unscathed, taking a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the inning. Both teams failed to add another run throughout the remainder of the game, seeing Lincoln Memorial secure a 4-0 victory, splitting the home-and-home with Lee on the season. With the victory, the Railsplitters improved to 10-9 on the season and will square-off against the Emory & Henry Wasps this weekend at home in a conference series showdown.
