Wingate, N.C.----The Lincoln Memorial University Railsplitters won a pair of games Thursday afternoon to capture the 2023 South Atlantic Conference softball tournament championship. LMU won the opener 14-2, while holding on for a 1-0 victory in game two to improve to 36-23 overall, while the Bulldogs fall to 44-14 on the year.

GAME ONE | LMU 14 WINGATE 2

KEY STATS

- LMU out-hit Wingate 15-7
- The Railsplitters had five of the seven extra-base hits and three of the five homers
- Lincoln Memorial left 10 on base; the Bulldogs stranded nine
- The 'Dogs committed the three errors in the contest
- LMU pitching struck out five and walked four; WU had three strikeouts and six walks

KEY BULLDOGS

- Hannah Stevens went one-for-two with a homer
- Ragan Liles also homered for the Bulldogs
- Raelynn Kramer added a pair of hits

FIRST INNING

- A Sterre den Duijn solo homer started the scoring

SECOND INNING

- An RBI single from Madison Henry gave LMU a 2-0 lead

THIRD INNING

- McKenzie Henry's RBI single gave LMU a 3-0 advantage
- Gracie Palmer's two-run single pushed the lead to five

FOURTH INNING

- A den Duijn two-run homer made it 7-0

SIXTH INNING

- Liles got Wingate on the board with a solo homer
- Stevens followed with a solo blast to make it 7-2

SEVENTH INNING

- LMU scored seven in the final frame to go on top 14-2
- Kelsie Tuggle started it with a two-run homer
- An Anna Kate Reichter two-run single capped the scoring in the contest

WRAPUP

- Emma Frost got the win, allowing a run on four hits in 5 1/3 innings of work, striking out five and walking three
- Danielle Kirchhofer took the loss, allowing a run on two hits in an inning of work

GAME TWO | LMU 1 WINGATE 0

KEY STATS

- Wingate out-hit LMU 5-4
- All nine hits in the game were singles
- Each team had an error
- The Bulldogs left seven on base; the Railsplitters stranded six
- Each pitching staff struck out two and walked two

KEY BULLDOGS

- Heaven Maness had a pair of hits for the Bulldogs
- Raechel Cutcher went six innings without allowing an earned run

FIRST INNING

- An error and walk put two on for LMU in the first
- Katy Pozzuto's bloop single got the Railsplitters on the board

WRAPUP

- The 'Dogs had chances in nearly every inning, getting a base runner in six of the seven frames
- Wingate got the leadoff hitter on base five times, but were unable to get on the board
- Hayley Tamaro got the win, tossing seven shutout innings, allowing five hits while striking out two
- Cutcher took the loss, allowing an unearned run on four hits in six innings, striking out two

UP NEXT

- Wingate will learn its postseason future next week
- The NCAA Division II softball field will be announced Monday, May 8 at 10 a.m.
- The bracket will be aired on NCAA.com