HARROGATE, Tenn. — The Lady Railsplitters combined to pound out 21 hits and 19 runs in a commanding two-game sweep over the Bobcats of Lees-McRae College in nonconference softball action on Thursday at Dorothy Neely Field. Lincoln Memorial University (4-6) took an 8-0 win in five innings in the opener before closing the day with an 11-0 win in five innings in the finale. Lees-McRae falls to 0-10.

Game One

Lincoln Memorial 8, Lees-McRae 0 (5 innings)

The Lady Railsplitters scorched their way out to seven runs in the first two frames and pitcher Amanda Snow (2-1) picked up the complete game shutout by limiting the Bobcats to only three hits and fanning six batters, as Lincoln Memorial rolled to an 8-0 victory in the opener.

Kristen Oakes (0-5) was saddled with the loss after surrendering nine hits and six earned runs over a four innings.

After an unblemished top half of the first, the Lady Railsplitters put four runs on the board in the bottom half of that frame to effectively grab command of the contest. Brianna Mulkey and Kirstin Toole opened the inning with back-to-back singles but Mulkey was caught stealing at third to notch the first out of the frame. Sarah Walz followed with a single and Laura Taricano was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Toole scored during the next at-bat on a wild pitch and Cierra Mudd slammed her first home run of the season later in that at-bat to give the Lady Railsplitters a 4-0 lead.

Amanda Decker singled for the Bobcats to lead off the top of the second inning and reached third following a pair of wild pitches, however, she was stranded as Snow struck out the side to stifle that scoring opportunity for Lees-McRae.

In the bottom of the second, the Lady Railsplitters started back where they left off, tallying three runs on a hit and two errors to storm out to a 7-0 lead. Kelly Dreier reached on a throwing error to spark that rally and later scored on another error by the Bobcats. Mulkey, who reached base on a walk earlier in the inning, also scored on that Bobcat miscue. A single by Snow in the next at-bat moved Toole, who was put on base due to the Bobcats’ second error, to third, and she was sent home on Walz’s sacrifice fly.

Neither team would score in the third but the Lady Railsplitters plated an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth on a solo blast off the bat of Toole. With that home run, LMU moved into an 8-0 lead on the scoreboard. Lees-McRae notched a pair of singles in the top of the fifth, but they would come up empty in that frame as the Lady Railsplitters rolled to an 8-0 victory in eight innings.

Mulkey and Toole headlined the Lady Railsplitters’ nine-hit effort with two hits apiece. Toole also scored in all three of her plate appearances and chipped in with two RBIs. Five other players notched a hit for Lincoln Memorial with Mudd headlining that group with her three-run blast in the opening frame.

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Lees-McRae………….. 000 00 — 0 3 3

Lincoln Memorial…. 430 1x — 8 9 1

Kristen Oakes and Amanda Decker; Amanda Snow and Jordyn Wilson. W-Snow(2-1). L-Oakes(0-5). HR- LMU:Kirstin Toole (2), Cierra Mudd (1).

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Game Two

Lincoln Memorial 11, Lees-McRae 0 (5 innings)

The Lady Railsplitters used an eight-run outburst in the bottom of the second and a stellar pitching performance from Samantha Smith to roll to an 11-0 victory over the Bobcats in five innings.

Smith (1-3) tallied another complete game shutout for the Lady Railspitters by limiting the Bobcats to only two hits over five innings. Smith struck out two and did not walk a batter. Hollie Crickenberger (0-5) surrendered 12 hits and six earned runs en route to earning the loss on the mound for Lees-McRae.

After a scoreless first inning, Lincoln Memorial put up an eight-spot in the second to take the lead. Laura Taricano led off with a single and immediately scored in the next at-bat on Cierra Mudd’s RBI double. Jordyn Wilson followed Mudd’s double with another single to plate the second run of the frame. A muffed throw on Danae Reed’s grounder in the next at-bat put runners on the corners and Brianna Mulkey singled to load the bases in the next at-bat. Kirstin Toole delivered a two-run double, while Wilson and Sarah Walz also came back around in the lineup to record a pair of two-run singles, as the Lady Railsplitters rolled out to an 8-0 lead.

The Lady Railsplitters held the Bobcats scoreless in the top of the third and came back in on offense where they added three more runs. Toole popped a two-run double in that inning and Taricano posted a sacrifice fly to drive in the runs.

Lees-McRae would be held to only one hit over the final two innings as Lincoln Memorial rolled to an 11-0 victory in five innings to cap the two-game sweep over the Bobcats.

LMU slammed 12 hits in the game, led by Mulkey’s three-for-four effort. Toole pounded two hits in three plate appearances with four RBIs to her credit, while Wilson got in on the act with two hits and three RBIs. Walz was also a big contributor in the contest with two hits and two RBIs.

Hanna Huckabee and Kristen Oakes notched the only two hits of the game for Lees-McRae.

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Lees-McRae………… 000 00 — 0 2 1

Lincoln Memorial…. 083 0x — 11 12 0

Hollie Crickenberger and Alison Armstrong, Sadie Lagle; Samantha Smith and Jordyn Wilson. W-Smith(1-3). L-Crickenberger(0-5).