Tigerville, SC – Lincoln Memorial fell in heartbreaking fashion on Wednesday afternoon, dropping an 8-7 decision to 5th-ranked North Greenville in 11 innings. The Railsplitters built multiple leads throughout the contest, including a four-run cushion late in the game, but could not hold off a persistent comeback by the Trailblazers.
Lincoln Memorial established dominance in the top of the first inning. Brooks Hagedorn sparked the rally with a double, followed by a single from Caleb Jordan. With two runners on, Alex Kowalski delivered a massive three-run home run to left field to give the Railsplitters an immediate 3-0 lead. Kowalski finished the day with three RBI, while Jordan was a force at the top of the lineup, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base.
After North Greenville cut the lead to one, the Railsplitters extended the margin in the third when Peyton Mullannix doubled to left center to drive home Brady Morse. Mullannix ended the game 2-for-5 with an RBI. The power display continued in the fifth inning when Morse launched a two-run home run to left field, scoring Jordan and pushing the lead to 6-3. Morse finished with two runs and two RBI. In the sixth, Gabe Gray doubled and eventually scored on an error to give Lincoln Memorial a 7-3 advantage. Gray, CJ Dugan, and Nick Kaelin all contributed hits to the Railsplitter offense.
On the mound, Jack Santi started the afternoon and went 3.1 innings with two strikeouts. Merrick Graham followed with a hitless relief appearance before turning the ball over to Easton Barnett. Barnett was excellent in the middle frames, throwing 3.2 innings and allowing only two runs on two hits while striking out two. Gavin Zoeller added a scoreless third of an inning to bridge the gap to the final frames.
The game shifted in the eighth inning when North Greenville used two solo home runs to trim the lead to 7-5. In the bottom of the ninth, the Trailblazers loaded the bases and capitalized on a two-run single to tie the score at 7-7. Josh Jeffcoat worked through a difficult ninth to force extra innings, and Eli Hanna struck out two in the tenth to keep the game alive. However, the Railsplitters were unable to score in the top of the 11th, and North Greenville secured the walk-off victory in the bottom half of the frame with an RBI single down the left-field line.
The Railsplitters are slated to be back at home for a three-game series with Hillsdale College with game one slated for Friday.
