JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman baseball team rallied from nine runs down to tie No. 25 Lincoln Memorial at 11 in the ninth inning, but it was not enough, as the Railsplitters pushed across four runs in the 10th to claim a 15-12 victory in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both squads on Friday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.

With the loss, the Eagles fall to 3-3 on the season and 0-1 in the conference. Lincoln Memorial improves to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in SAC play.

C-N’s Corey Lamson (Gray, Tenn.) and Morgan Gregory (Nashville, Tenn.) each delivered a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings, but Railsplitters’ second baseman Juan Alvarez (Carolina, P.R.) led off the top of the 10th inning with a solo blast that sparked Lincoln Memorial’s game-winning four-run outburst.

C-N and Lincoln Memorial each tallied 13 hit on the day, including a combined seven home runs.

Lamson, Derek Long (Jefferson City, Tenn.), Aaron Vargas (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) and Tyler Davis (Carrollton, Ga.) produced two hits apiece to lead the Eagles. Long and Davis each had a double.

Senior right fielder Jeff Lockwood (Knoxville, Tenn.) added a solo home run in the loss, while senior shortstop Mills Rogers (Simpsonville, S.C.) contributed a double and drove in three runs.

Alvarez went 3-fo-6 to lead Lincoln Memorial. Cody Pack (Andersonville, Tenn.) delivered a double and a home run and had three RBIs for the Railsplitters, while Isaac Edmonds (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) and Gelson Perez (Gurabo, P.R.) pitched in two hits each. Eric Kitts (Blaine, Tenn.) finished with one home run and three RBIs.

Lincoln Memorial reliever Garrett Copeland (Knoxville, Tenn.) (2-0) earned the win after working the 10th inning and allowing one run on one hit.

C-N’s Chase Boruff (Knoxville, Tenn.) was tagged with the loss. Boruff (0-1) surrendered four runs on two hits and walked three batters in 1/3 of an inning on the mound.

The Railsplitters struck first with a four-run outburst in top of the third inning, as Pack delivered a three-run home run to right center and Adleburg added a solo blast to left field to give Lincoln Memorial a 4-0 lead.

Lincoln Memorial exploded for five more runs in the fourth, highlighted by a two-run shot to center field by Kitts.

The Eagles began to battle back in the fourth with a three-run inning. Catcher Mason Guymon (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) ripped a two-run double down the left field line with the bases loaded, and Vargas added a RBI single to cut Lincoln Memorial’s lead to 9-3.

C-N added another run in the fifth, as Lockwood crushed a towering solo home run to center field, his fourth of the season.

The Eagles rallied for three more runs in the sixth to trim the Railspillters’ lead to 9-7. After singles by Davis and Vargas and a walk by Guymon, Rogers lined a double off the left field wall to clear the bases.

Lincoln Memorial pushed across two more runs in the eighth before C-N tied the contest with a four-run rally in the ninth.

However, the Railsplitters secured the win with a four-run 10th inning.

C-N and Lincoln Memorial will wrap up the three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.