JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters (12-7, 8-3 South Atlantic Conference) cranked three home runs including a grand slam to sweep a series against the Carson-Newman Eagles (9-10, 6-9 SAC) 16-5 Sunday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"We were better today. Our team was better, obviously not with the score, but as far as what our energy was and being more enthused about the game and being aware. They did a good job," coach Tom Griffin said. "They kept competing and that's all right now we can ask of our guys, just keep competing and keep fighting because that's all we can control. The at-bats and the other things are going to be more mental and physical, but certainly the one thing we want to control is the energy and enthusiasm and the drive to keep playing this game to the final out and they did that and that's all we can ask for."
Carson-Newman wasted no time taking an early lead in the top of the first frame. Junior centerfielder Joe Tipton (Dandridge, Tenn.) ripped a double down the leftfield line on the third pitch of the game. Two batters later, senior leftfielder Bo Ausmus (Jefferson City, Tenn.) clobbered his third home run of the season over the rightfield fence to put the Eagles ahead 2-0.
Lincoln Memorial had yet to record a hit when Jean Rodriguez led off the third inning with a base hit to right. A four-pitch walk put two men on base for Scott Miller. The Railsplitters' designated hitter lined a single into centerfield to bring LMU within a run. A throwing error by junior third basemen Brandon Roberts (Davie, Fla.) allowed a second run to cross the plate in the stanza. Lincoln Memorial attempted a double steal, getting a runner at first base in a rundown that would bring home Miller to put LMU ahead 3-2.
A pair of errors contributed to a Carson-Newman run in the top of the fourth inning. Freshman Cade Snapp (Seymour, Tenn.) reached on an error to begin the inning and moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt. After a pop out, Roberts lined a single to center and a throwing error allowed Snapp to cross the plate and tie the score at three.
First basemen Nick Morabito put Lincoln Memorial back on top in the bottom of the fourth frame as he clubbed a 0-1 pitch to straightaway center with one out to make it 4-3.
The Railsplitters piled on in the late innings bringing home four runs in the sixth, three in the seventh inning and five in the bottom of the eighth. Morabito added his second roundtripper of the game, a two-run blast to left field in the sixth inning. A grand slam from Ryan Burlison put a conclusion on the power surge from Lincoln Memorial with one out in the eighth inning.
Sophomore Eric Lynch (Boonton, N.J.) and Ausmus each had a pair of hits for the Eagles on the day.
Carson-Newman used eight different pitchers on the day as six of them conceded at least one run on the afternoon.
The Eagles are back in action Tuesday afternoon when Belmont Abbey ventures to the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex for a 2 p.m. first pitch. Pregame coverage begins 10 minutes prior to the first pitch with high definition video available on cneagles.com/live courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network.
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