HARROGATE, TN - Lincoln Memorial softball opened its South Atlantic Conference home slate Saturday at Dorothy Neely Softball Complex and earned a split with No. 19 Carson-Newman, highlighted by a dramatic 2-1 extra-inning win in game one before the Eagles answered with a 12-2 victory in five innings in game two.

In the opener, Carson-Newman struck first with a run in the top of the first, but the Railsplitters settled in and matched the Eagles pitch-for-pitch the rest of the way. LMU tied the game in the seventh when Hannah McMeen delivered an RBI double to bring home Gracie Palmer, and the game stayed deadlocked into the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, Lincoln Memorial pushed across the winning run in walk-off fashion on catcher's interference, sealing a 2-1 victory in extra innings. McMeen finished with two doubles and an RBI to lead the offense, while Palmer added a hit and drove in a run. In the circle, Jasmine Kaylor worked 6.0 strong innings, and Katie Fultz earned the win in relief by shutting the door over the final 3.0 innings, allowing just one hit and recording a strikeout.

Carson-Newman responded in the second game by erupting for eight runs in the second inning and adding four more in the fifth to pull away for the 12-2 final. Lincoln Memorial answered with two runs in the third, starting with an RBI double from Kristin Griffin and followed by an RBI single from Hanna Bogoski to cut into the deficit. The Railsplitters totaled four hits in the nightcap, with Griffin, Bogoski, Palmer and Jordann Reagan each collecting a hit.

Lincoln Memorial returns to SAC action at home on Wednesday, March 18, hosting Coker for a doubleheader at Dorothy Neely Softball Complex. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m., with game two scheduled for 2:00 p.m., and live stats will be available through LMU Athletics.