Railsplitters Lose Two to Union

BARBOURVILLE, KY – The Lincoln Memorial University baseball team was swept in a double-header Wednesday afternoon by the Bulldogs of Union College 1-0 and 13-6.

LMU lost a heart breaker in the first game of the afternoon when Bulldogs scored in the bottom of the seventh inning on a squeeze bunt.  Railsplitter pitcher Reed Neff (Brentwood, TN) got the loss.  Neff pitched 6.1 innings, giving up eight hits; one run and one earned run walked one batter and struck out six.

The low scoring affair was a defensive struggle.  The Railsplitters were held to only four hits throughout the game with Sergio Baez (Miami, FL) leading the way by going one for one with two walks.

In the afternoon’s second game, things got out of hand early when LMU pitcher Mitchell Turner (Knoxville, TN) was greeted rudely by the Bulldogs.  Turner got the start gave up three hits, six runs and six earned runs with two walks and one strikeout in only a third of an inning’s work.  The senior eventually was charged with the loss as the Railsplitters fell 13-6.

Other Railsplitters seeing time on the mound were junior Kyle Wakefield (Kalamazoo, MI) who went 3.2 innings to give up six hits, four runs and three earned runs with a walk and a strikeout.  Teammate Sean Mace (Florence, KY) took over then and game up four hits, three runs and two earned runs while walking one Union batter.  Sergio Baez then tossed the final inning allowing only a walk before the Railsplitters gave in to the 13-6 loss.

The LMU bats did manage to be heard somewhat louder in the second game as the Railsplitters recorded 11 hits.  Baez was four for five in the second game with one run knocked in, while teammate Derek Treece (Powell, TN) was three for four with and RBI and Dustin Rowland (Eagle River, AK) was two for four with two runs batted in.

This weekend the Railsplitters will have to step up their play quite a bit when they travel to Lakeland, Florida to take on NCAA Division II powerhouse Florida Southern in a two-game series.  Friday’s action gets underway at 7:00 p.m. while Saturday’s action starts at 6:00 o’clock.