Harrogate, TN – After falling to the Anderson Trojans in the first game of the three-game weekend conference series, the Lincoln Memorial baseball team was back in action Saturday at Lamar Hennon Field, seeking to claim both games of the double-header and claim the conference series.
The Trojans started the day with a pair of hits, but the Railsplitters' defense held in the top of the first, keeping Anderson off the scoreboard, leaving the score knotted at 0-0 heading into the bottom of the first inning.
Caleb Jordan got things started for Lincoln Memorial, singling to right field and subsequently stealing second base.
Alex Kowalski tripled to right center field, driving in Jordan, giving the Railsplitters a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Sam Mast then doubled down the left field line to drive in Kowalski to further extend the Lincoln Memorial lead to 2-0 after one inning. In the top of the second inning, with two runners on base, Anderson connected on a three-run home run to left field, giving the Trojans a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the second inning. Following a single from
Brooks Hagedorn,
Kevin Fernandez doubled to left field to drive in Hagedorn, tying the game at 3-3. Later in the inning,
Chris Hall blasted a solo shot homer to give Lincoln Memorial a 4-3 lead after two innings. After holding the Trojans scoreless in the top of the third, the Railsplitters continued to build on their lead. Kowalski doubles to left field and was subsequently driven in by Mast to extend the lead to 5-3. Later in the inning, Hagedorn drove in Mast by grounding-out to shortstop, giving Lincoln Memorial a 6-3 lead after three innings.
Once again, the Railsplitters' defense stood tall in the top of the fourth, maintaining a 6-3 advantage taking over on offense. However, Lincoln Memorial was unable to build on its lead any further, leaving the game at 6-3 in favor of the Railsplitters heading into the fifth inning. The fifth inning was quiet offensively for both teams, leaving the game sitting at 6-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. The game remained quiet throughout, until the bottom of the eighth when Lincoln Memorial added to its run total by taking home on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 7-3 late in the game. Jordan then singled to right field to drive in
Archer Wong-Shasteen, further extending the lead to 8-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Later in the inning, Kowalski connected on a sac-fly to drive in Hall, seeing Lincoln Memorial triple up on Anderson, 9-3. The Railsplitters added a final run in the bottom of the eighth when Jordan took home on a failed pick off attempt, giving Lincoln Memorial a 10-3 lead heading into the final frame. Anderson was unable to chip into the Railsplitters' lead, seeing the series split in half at 1-1 with one final game remaining to determine the series.
The Trojans wasted no time in getting started offensively, tallying three runs in the top of the first inning. However, the Railsplitters responded with three runs of their own, knotting the game at 3-3 when Hall and Jordan were driven home by Kowalski with a single to center field to bring the score to 3-2 in favor of the Trojans. Later in the inning, Simmons connected on a sac-fly to drive in Kowalski, knotting the game at 3-3 heading into the second inning. Anderson took a 4-3 lead in the top of the second before retiring the Railsplitters and adding another run in the top of the fourth inning to extend the lead to 5-3 as the game spilled into the bottom of the third inning. The game remained knotted at 5-3 heading into the fifth inning as both teams were unable to add to their run totals. Lincoln Memorial's defense withstood the top of the fifth inning, holding Anderson off the scoreboard, leaving the score cemented at 5-3. In the top of the sixth, the Trojans doubled up the Railsplitters by adding a run on a sacrifice fly, taking a 6-3 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning. Anderson added two more runs in the top of the seventh for added insurance, claiming game three 8-3, securing the series 2-1.
