Bears Win Extra Inning Game Against Railsplitters

HARROGATE, TN – The rain held off long enough Friday evening for Lincoln Memorial and Lenoir-Rhyne to get in the first game of a scheduled three-game series this weekend with the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne College coming out on top 8-6.

On Friday afternoon and early evening, Lincoln Memorial University’s Lamar Hennon Field took quite a bit of rain.  In fact, there was so much rain that neither of the two teams was able to take infield and the game was pushed back from its original start time of 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 so that the Railsplitters could prepare it for play.

Nonetheless, the game got started around 7:30 and was neck-and-neck until Lenoir-Rhyne scored two runs in the top of the eleventh inning on an Evan Taylor single.  The runs proved to be enough for the win, as the Bears held off the Railsplitters in the bottom of the inning to come away with an 8-6 win in the first game of the series.

Taylor seemed to be the hero on the day for the Bears.  The right fielder was four-four-six at the plate with four RBI in Lenoir-Rhyne’s fifteenth win of the season and their seventh in South Atlantic Conference play.  The victory also helps the Bears remain unbeaten in league action going into the final two games of the series with Lincoln Memorial at 7-0.

Lenoir-Rhyne relief pitcher Jesse Beane picked up the win on Friday night to improve to 3-1 on the season.  Beane entered the game in the sixth inning and pitched 5.2 innings of shutout baseball and allowed only three Railsplitter hits while on the mound.

At the plate, Lincoln Memorial looked much better then in last weekend’s series with Wingate University.  The Railsplitters pounded out 10 hits, crossing the plate six times while stranding 11 base runners.  Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference selection Derek Treece (Powell, TN) began coming out of a mid-season slump as he was four-for-four at the plate.  Railsplitter second baseman John Couch (Bonnyman, KY) was two-for-three with two runs batted in.

Lenoir-Rhyne improves to 15-14 overall and 7-0 in the South Atlantic Conference, while Lincoln Memorial drops to 14-13-1 and 2-8 in league play.  Games two and three of the series are set for Saturday at 1:00 p.m. with rain forecast for the tri-state area.  If rain forces a postponement of the games on Saturday, they will be played Sunday at 1:00 p.m.