Harrogate, TN -- Lincoln Memorial baseball opened its weekend conference series against UVA-Wise in dramatic fashion on Friday, securing a 6-5 walk-off victory at Lamar Hennon Field. The win was a historic milestone for the program as head coach Justin Haywood earned his 150th career victory leading the Railsplitters. The contest remained a scoreless pitcher's duel through the first inning and a half, but Lincoln Memorial broke the ice in the bottom of the second. Following a single from CJ Dugan and a base hit by Kevin Fernandez, Gabe Gray delivered an RBI single to center field to give the Railsplitters a 1-0 lead.
The Lincoln Memorial offense found its rhythm in the third inning to extend the advantage. Peyton Mullannix drew a walk and stole second before scoring on an RBI single from Ronny Matti. The rally continued as Ayden Jackson drove in Alex Kowalski with a single to right, and Fernandez added a sacrifice fly to deep right field that allowed Matti to cross the plate, pushing the lead to 4-0. On the mound, Payton Armour provided a dominant start for the Railsplitters, tossing five scoreless innings while striking out six and allowing just four hits.
UVA-Wise began to chip away at the deficit in the later stages of the game, scoring once in the sixth and twice more in the eighth to pull within a single run. In the top of the ninth, the visitors staged a comeback by scoring two runs on three hits to take their first lead of the game at 5-4. However, the Railsplitters refused to go quietly in the final frame. Fernandez ignited the comeback with a leadoff single and advanced to third on an error. Gray followed with a bunt single to the pitcher that scored Fernandez to tie the game. After Gray moved to third on a series of defensive miscues, Caleb Jordan stepped to the plate and lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, allowing Gray to tag up and score the winning run.
Lucas Smith earned the win in relief, recording the final two outs of the ninth inning to set the stage for the walk-off heroics. The Lincoln Memorial offense finished the day with 11 hits, led by three-hit performances from both Gray and Fernandez. Brady Morse also contributed a double to the winning effort. With the series-opening victory and Coach Haywood's milestone secured, the Railsplitters look to carry the momentum into the remaining two games of the conference set on Saturday.
