HARTSVILLE, S.C. - Lincoln Memorial junior hurler Samantha Smith tossed a no-hitter, while teammate Megan Tice posted a grand-slam in the third inning to lift the seventh-seeded Lady Railsplitters to an 8-0 upset of No. 2 seed and 23rd-ranked Anderson in the opening round of the 2015 South Atlantic Conference Softball Tournament, Thursday afternoon at Byerly Park.

Anderson, which fell to 35-12 on the season, saw its bid to earn a second straight tournament crown suffer a setback. The Trojans had their win steak
halted at six games and dropped into the elimination bracket of the tournament. AU will face No. 6 seed Lenoir-Rhyne, which fell 1-0 to third-seeded Catawba earlier Thursday morning. First-pitch between the Trojans and Bears is set for Friday at 10 a.m. Lincoln Memorial improved to 23-11 on the season and advances to meet Catawba Friday at 10 a.m.

The Trojans suffered their first hitless game since joining the SAC for the 2011 campaign, with three batters getting on base. Senior Jessica Neidigh was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the first inning, while freshman Cailah Niles walked twice and senior Bri Cason reached on an error in the fourth inning.

Emilee Solomon and Tice led the way for the Railsplitters at the plate. Solomon finished the day 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored, while Tice was 1-for-3, with four RBIs and a run scored.

Freshman Chelsea Jones (14-5) suffered the loss after surrendering five earned runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings of work in the circle. She struck out two and walked two. Sophomore Lauren Rudesheim tossed 2 1/3 innings of relief and allowed three runs (one earned), while striking out two and walking one.
LMU threatened in the top of the second inning, as Jones allowed a leadoff single to Meredith Johnson, but retired the next two batters before issuing a free pass to Kristen McAndrew to put two runners on with two out. The second-team all-conference selection worked out of the jam by posting her first strikeout of the afternoon.

But the Lady Railsplitters erupted for five runs with one out in the third inning, as Tice provided the offensive firepower with her grand slam. Lincoln Memorial capitalized on a Trojan miscue to add a pair of unearned runs in the fourth inning and set the final score with a solo run in the top of the fifth frame.