Forest City, N.C.----Sixth-seeded Lincoln Memorial University tallied a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning to take the lead and the Railsplitters held on for a 10-9 victory over top-seeded Wingate University on Thursday afternoon in the first round of the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference baseball tournament at McNair Field.

With the win, Lincoln Memorial (25-22 overall) advances to the quarterfinals and will take on the loser of the matchup between number three Catawba College and number four Carson-Newman College on Friday at 3:45 p.m. Wingate (29-18 overall) drops into the loser’s bracket. The Bulldogs will play the loser of number two Mars Hill College and number five Tusculum College Friday at noon.

Wingate’s redshirt senior center fielder Nick Siega-Riz (Clemmons, N.C.) crushed a solo blast to right field in the seventh to give the Bulldogs a 9-8 advantage, but Lincoln Memorial responded to take the lead for good in the eighth. Garrett Copeland (Knoxville, Tenn.) drove in a run on a fielder’s choice and Ben Adleburg (Madisonville, Fla.) delivered a RBI single.

Lincoln Memorial collected 14 hits on the day, including three from Cody Baker (Knoxville, Tenn.). Copeland, Adleburg and John Couch (Bonnyman, Ky.) all homered for the Railsplitters; they finished with two hits each. Copeland and Couch also posted three RBI each.

Wingate pounded out 13 hits. Senior infielder Logan Isaacs (Raleigh, N.C.) and junior designated hitter Tres Ramirez (Ocala, Fla.) tallied three hits each to lead the way, while Siega-Riz and sophomore outfielder Dodson McPherson (Graham, N.C.) had two each. Bulldog junior catcher Taylor Honeycutt (Indian Trail, N.C.) added a two-run homer in the loss.

Railsplitters reliever Chase Quarles (Rogersville, Tenn.) allowed only one hit and fanned four over the final two innings to seal the win and pick up his first save of the season. Lincoln Memorial’s Ray Burchell (Corryton, Tenn.) worked 1 1/3 innings to earn the win. Burchell (1-1 overall) surrendered one run and three hits and had three strikeouts.

Wingate senior reliever Lee Oxendine (Laurinburg, N.C.) was tagged with the loss. Oxendine (3-3 overall) allowed two earned runs and two hits and walked four in one inning on the mound.

Wingate grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, as sophomore outfielder Casey Allison (Horse Shoe, N.C.) produced a two-out single to get things started. He scored later on a Ramirez single to right center. The Railsplitters answered with a three-run outburst in the second. Adleburg led off the inning with a solo blast to left field. Nick Langley (Blaine, Tenn.) drew a walk and Couch followed by delivering a two-run home run to left field to give Lincoln Memorial a 3-1 lead.

Copeland pushed the Railsplitters’ lead to 4-1 in the third as he launched a solo home run to right field. The Bulldogs rallied to take the lead in the fifth by erupting for four runs, highlighted by a two-run home run by Honeycutt and a two-run single by McPherson.

Lincoln Memorial responded in the sixth to tie the game. Copeland led off the inning with a single and later scored on a Couch single up the middle. Wingate regained the lead in the home half of the six, as a RBI double by sophomore shortstop Chris Vazquez (Tyrone, Ga.) and a pair of run-scoring single by Isaacs and McPherson gave the Bulldogs an 8-5 advantage.

The Railsplitters tallied three runs in the seventh to tie the game. Joseph Horsely (Corryton, Tenn.) scored on a Bulldog error, while Langley drove in a pair of runs with a single up the middle. Wingate regained the lead in the seventh on Siega-Riz’s home run before the Railsplitters pushed across a pair of runs in the eighth for the win. 

(Special thanks to Carson-Newman assistant SID Justin Holt for providing this game story.)