Box score
HARROGATE, Tenn. --- The Lincoln Memorial
University softball team continued its season-opening winning
streak with a doubleheader sweep of Lees-McRae College on Tuesday
afternoon in a non-conference matchup.
Lincoln Memorial (10-0) surrendered 17 hits to the Bobcats
(6-6), but held LMC to a 4-for-22 clip with runners on base en
route to wins of 3-1 and 4-0. The Railsplitters posted a trio of
doubles and drew eight walks on the day, while LMC tallied a home
run and struck out 10 LMU batters.
Meagan Knowles (West Palm Beach, Fla.) paced the Bobcats with a
5-for-6 day at the plate, while Paige Coleman (Thomasville, N.C.),
Lindsey Huntsinger (Asheville, N.C.), Kim Coley (Marion, N.C.), and
Kierstie Moon (Oxford, Ga.) each posted a multi-hit day. Huntsinger
tallied the lone Bobcat run of the day with a solo home run, her
fifth of the season, in game one.
Laurel Gregg (Mars Hill, N.C.) made the start for the Bobcats in
game one, allowing three runs on six hits in six innings of work.
Magen West (Whitney, Texas) got the nod in the night cap,
surrendering four runs and striking out five Railsplitters through
four innings. Hollie Crickenberger (Boydton, Va.) tossed two
scoreless innings of relief in game two for Lees-McRae.
Brianna Mulkey (Kettering, Ohio) led the Railsplitters with a
4-for-8 day at the dish, while Kristi Franz (Vandalia, Ohio) and
Taylor McGinnis (Powell, Tenn.) each tallied three hits. Franz
drove in a team-high four runs, as McGinnis posted two doubles and
two RBI.
Meghan LaFevor (Columbia, Tenn.) got the nod in game one,
allowing one run on eight hits and striking out seven in a
complete-game effort. Cierra Mudd (Washburn, Tenn.) followed with a
complete-game shutout in the night cap, scattering nine hits and
striking out three in seven innings of work.
Game One: Lincoln Memorial 3, Lees-McRae 1 (Box Score)
The opener remained scoreless until the top of the sixth, when
Huntsinger launched a solo home run to right field with one out to
give Lees-McRae a narrow 1-0 lead. Lincoln Memorial answered in the
bottom of the inning, tallying a trio of runs on an RBI single by
McGinnis and a two-run base knock by Franz to take a decisive 3-1
advantage. The Bobcats would threaten in the seventh, when Anna
Carter (Hurdle Mills, N.C.) and Knowles each singled early in the
frame. LaFevor then shut the door, forcing an inning-ending double
play to clinch the victory.
Game Two: Lincoln Memorial 4, Lees-McRae 0 (Box Score)
Each team had several scoring chances in the early innings, as
LMC put a pair of runners on base in the third and the
Railsplitters left the bags loaded in the bottom of the inning
after filling the diamond with only one out.
Lincoln Memorial tallied the game's first runs in the following
inning, putting runners on second and third with one out for Franz,
who laced a single up the middle to score Danae Reed (Broadway,
Va.) and McGinnis to give the Railsplitters a 2-0 lead. The
Railsplitters then doubled the margin to 4-0 in the fifth on
back-to-back doubles by Sarah Walz (Innisfail, Alberta, Canada) and
McGinnis after Bridget Eicher (Hicksville, Ohio) drew a leadoff
walk. Lees-McRae threatened once again in the sixth, loading the
bases with two outs following a Carter walk before Mudd struck out
the final batter of the inning to quell the rally.
Lees-McRae returns to the diamond on Wednesday when the Bobcats
travel to Greeneville, Tenn. to take on Tusculum College in a 2
p.m. doubleheader.
- LMC -
