NEWBERRY - The Newberry softball team was unable to come away with a win on Saturday, as Lincoln Memorial swept both ends of a doubleheader by scores of 3-2 and 5-2.

The Wolves honored Shelley Jeffcoat (Lexington, S.C.), Kaylyn Camacho (Tampa, Fla.), Ashley Roof (Columbia, S.C.), Gwenell Crawford (Yulee, Fla.), Tasia Diaz (Dowagiac, Mich.), and Brittany Phillips (Pacolet, S.C.) in a ceremony between games. The six seniors were playing in the final weekend home series of their careers on Saturday and had many family members in attendance.

The Lady Railsplitters improve their overall record to 27-18, including 7-9 in conference games. With the losses, Newberry drops to 15-21 on the season and 3-11 in South Atlantic Conference play. The Wolves are next in action on Wednesday at 2 p.m. as they host conference foe Anderson in the final home games of the season.

Game One: Lincoln Memorial 3, Newberry 2
[Box Score]

An opportunistic Lady Railsplitters squad was able to score a pair of runs in the fifth inning to take a 3-2 lead and stave off Newberry's attempts to rally in the late innings en route to a victory in the afternoon's first contest.

Newberry clung to a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth when Lincoln Memorial loaded the bases on two singles sandwiched around a walk and a batter's interference call. With one out, Kaylyn Camacho induced a popup near the edge of the infield just steps to the left of Wolves' second baseman Danielle Basch (Muskegon, Mich.). Because the bases were loaded, there were less than two outs in the inning, and Basch could have reached the ball exerting “ordinary effort,” an infield fly should have been awarded by rule. This would have given two outs in the inning with the bases still loaded. But the call was not made, and a run scored when Basch tripped as she moved to field the ball. Amanda Snow then drove in another run on a sacrifice fly to left field on what would have been the third out of the inning, giving the Lady Railsplitters a 3-2 advantage.

Newberry had taken advantage of opportunities to take the lead in the early innings. Three straight singles and a fielder's choice loaded the bases with one out in the second inning for Tasia Diaz, whose RBI fielder's choice to the shortstop gave the Wolves a 1-0 second inning advantage.

An inning later, Amelia Putnam (Mansfield, Ga.) and Paige Brugh (Indian Land, S.C.) laced consecutive one-out singles and were moved into scoring position by a Brittany Phillips fielder's choice. Basch followed with a scorching RBI single past a lunging shortstop and into center field that extended the lead to 2-0.

Lincoln Memorial's Amanda Snow cut the Newberry lead to 2-1 with a one-out home run to right center field in the fourth inning. After the disastrous top of the fifth, Newberry was unable to mount a serious rally and could not advance a runner past first base.

Putnam finished the day 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Darrian Jamison (Versailles, Ky.) continued her hot streak by going 2-for-3. Basch chipped in a 2-for-3 with a run scored and the second-inning RBI. Camacho pitched well in defeat, giving up three runs on five hits in seven innings.

Game Two: Lincoln Memorial 5, Newberry 2
[Box Score]

The Lady Railsplitters used a seventh inning Amanda Snow home run, her second in as many contests on the afternoon, to pull away from Newberry to win Saturday's second game 5-2 and sweep the doubleheader.

The game began auspiciously for the Wolves, as Shelley Jeffcoat was able to work around a leadoff single in the first inning. Then with two outs in the bottom half of the frame, Putnam drew a walk ahead of Jamison, who crushed a double deep into the right center field gap that scored Putnam from first.

Lincoln Memorial tied the game in the third inning on a throwing error that allowed a run to score. They took a 3-1 lead an inning later on an RBI single by Cierra Mudd followed by an RBI double by Danae Reed on the next pitch.

Casey Nellums (Duluth, Ga.) scored an unearned run to trim the Lady Railsplitter lead to 3-2 on a Jamison RBI double in the fifth, but the Wolves would leave two runners stranded in the inning. Newberry left at least one runner on base in every inning, totaling ten on the afternoon.

While Lincoln Memorial was able to add to its lead in the late innings, a Brittany Phillips defensive gem likely saved at least one run. With two outs and a runner on third in the top of the sixth, Lincoln Memorial's Danae Reed lined an 0-1 offering from Jeffcoat into shallow left center field. Phillips immediately broke back on the ball and lunged from a dead sprint to come up with the line drive and keep Newberry within striking distance.

Jamison paced the Wolves offensively, going a combined 4-for-6 in both games. She raised her team-leading batting average from .366 to .404, a full 93 points higher than the next closest Wolf. Her on-base percentage now stands at an eye-popping .509, also tops on the team by a wide margin.