Ooltewah's Brianna Taylor Shines As Lady Railsplitters Split Doubleheader On 1st Day Of St. Leo Invite

Freshman pitcher Brianna Taylor (Ooltewah, Tenn.) dazzled in a complete-game shutout to help the Lincoln Memorial University Lady Railsplitters (5-3) split a doubleheader against a pair of NCAA Division II opponents on Friday at the Saint Leo Softball Sunshine Invitational in Saint Leo, Fla.
 
Lincoln Memorial found a way to scrape together enough run support for Taylor in a 3-0 win over the Stillman Tigers in the opening game of the Saint Leo Invite, but a 10-run inning propelled the Lynn Fighting Knights to a 13-2, five-inning victory over the Lady Railsplitters in game two.
 
Game One - Lincoln Memorial 3, Stillman 0
 
Taylor was absolutely magnificent in the circle for the Lady Railsplitters, dominating the Tigers in the second complete game of her freshman season.

The Ooltewah, Tenn. native allowed only four hits and reset her career-high with 11 strikeouts, becoming the first LMU pitcher to fan double-digit batters since Amanda Snow (Knoxville, Tenn.) struck out 12 on April 3, 2013.
 
The Tigers put a runner in scoring position on just two occasions. Taylor issued her only two walks of the game in the top of the first, but she left Hannah Burr stranded at second following a ground out. Stillman wouldn't get another runner into scoring position until Rachel Skelton doubled with two outs in the top of the fifth. Taylor promptly struck out Codi Pierson to end that threat.
 
Stillman starter Mickenzie Sparks limited the Lady Railsplitters' offense to four hits, but LMU used two fielding blunders to manufacture three runs.
 
Snow drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the second and a fielder's choice put the much speedier Ashlea Hunter (Woodruff, S.C.) on first base in the next at-bat. Hunter's speed made things happen for the Lady Railsplitters as she swiped second base and advanced to third on a throwing error by the Stillman catcher. Teddi Collins (Germantown, Ohio) scored Hunter just minutes later with a sacrifice bunt.
 
After going dormant through the next three innings, the Lady Railsplitters scrounged together two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. The pieces were put in place by an error as Kelly Dreier (Knoxville, Tenn.) found her way to second base with no outs following a miscue in the infield. She advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a sacrifice fly out by Jaclyn Cokeroft (Longwood, Fla.). With the bases clear and two outs, Snow got the Lady Railsplitters back in business with a double to right center. Hunter singled in the next at-bat and Snow scored via some first-and-third base running hijinks.
 
Taylor allowed a two-out single in the top of the seventh before shutting the door with her 11th strikeout of the game.
 
Friday afternoon's tilt was the Lady Railsplitters' first-ever meeting against the Stillman Tigers.
 
Game Two: Lynn 13, Lincoln Memorial 2 (5 innings)
 
Things unraveled quickly for the Lady Railsplitters in the day's second game as the Lynn Fighting Knights nearly batted around twice and piled up 10 runs in the top of the third to build an insurmountable lead.
 
Both teams went scoreless through the first two innings, but Lynn flipped the game on its head as it veered into the third frame. The Fighting Knights recorded six hits and drew four walks to pace that 10-run explosion. Seven different players collected an RBI in the inning. Francais Olexa drove in two runs with a single, Leanne Wright belted a two-run double and Manya Lopez capped the scoring with a two-RBI single.
 
The Lady Railsplitters got back a run in the bottom of the fourth as Snow and Hunter doubled in back-to-back at-bats, but the Fighting Knights added three more runs in the visitors' half of the fifth, carried by a two-out, two-run double from Wright.
 
Meredith Johnson (Kenly, N.C.) singled in a run in the bottom of the fifth, but it was too little, too late for the Lady Railsplitters.
 
Samantha Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Snow both struggled on the mound for the Lady Railsplitters, as that duo combined to allow 11 earned runs, 11 hits and seven walks. Smith fell to 3-2 on the season after relinquishing seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. Snow served up four runs and walked three batters in 2/3 of an inning in relief.
 
Senior Emilee Solomon (Knoxville, Tenn.) - the reigning Women Play Ball DII Athlete of the Week - went 1-for-3 in both games, extending her career-long hitting streak to eight games. She has hit safely in 11 straight games dating back to the end of the 2014 campaign.
 
Hunter went 3-for-5 in the two-game set, scoring one run and driving in another. Snow went 2-for-4 on Friday with two doubles, a walk and two runs scored. Snow now has an extra-base hit in five consecutive games.
 
The Lady Railsplitters will get another shot at Lynn on Saturday, completing the Saint Leo Classic versus the Fighting Knights at 4 p.m. and Flagler at 8 p.m. in Saint Leo, Fla.