Salisbury, NC -- The Lincoln Memorial baseball team endured a difficult weekend on the road as they were swept in a three game South Atlantic Conference series by third ranked Catawba. After dropping the opening contest on Friday by a score of 6-2, the Railsplitters returned to the field on Saturday for a doubleheader but could not find a way to slow down the potent offense of the Catawba Indians. Lincoln Memorial fell 14-5 in the first game of the day and concluded the weekend with an 8-0 loss in the series finale. The winless weekend marks the beginning of a challenging stretch for the Railsplitters, who officially face the toughest remaining schedule in all of Division 2 baseball. This weekend's series is only the second series of the season that the Railsplitters have lost and the first of the season that concluded in a sweep.
The first game of Saturday's doubleheader started with a burst of energy from the Lincoln Memorial offense in the top of the first inning. Gabe Gray ignited the dugout with a solo home run to left field to take an immediate lead. The momentum continued as Caleb Jordan singled and scored on an RBI double by Brady Morse. Later in the frame, CJ Dugan delivered a clutch two out single to left field that drove in both Alex Kowalski and Morse, giving the Railsplitters a 4-0 advantage. However, the Catawba Indians responded quickly in the bottom half of the inning by plating three runs on four hits to trim the lead to one.
Catawba eventually pulled ahead in the middle innings while the Lincoln Memorial bats cooled off. The Railsplitters managed to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the fourth when Ronny Matti singled and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Fernandez. That would be the final run of the game for the visitors as the Catawba Indians took control with a four run sixth inning and a five run seventh inning. Despite the loss, the Railsplitters tallied eleven hits, including multi-hit performances from Gray, Jordan, Morse, and Matti. On the mound, Adrian Smith started and went four innings, allowing four runs, while Lucas Smith was tagged with the loss after giving up five runs in relief.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Lincoln Memorial struggled to find any rhythm against the pitching staff of the Catawba Indians. The Railsplitters were held scoreless on just three hits over the seven inning contest. Caleb Jordan, Alex Kowalski, and Nick Kaelin each recorded a hit, but the team left eight runners on base and could not capitalize on five walks issued by Catawba. The Catawba Indians jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and added an unearned run in the second to keep the pressure on.
The game remained within reach until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Catawba Indians broke things open with four runs on three hits and three walks. Eli Edds took the loss for Lincoln Memorial, pitching four and a third innings and allowing five earned runs while striking out four. Easton Barnett provided relief work for the final portion of the game, but the deficit proved too large to overcome. Lincoln Memorial will look to bounce back from the 0-3 weekend as they navigate the remainder of their rigorous schedule.
