Box Score HARROGATE, TN – The Hawks kicked off their 2025 campaign with a trip to Tennessee to take on the Railsplitters of Lincoln Memorial University, who came into action with a 2-3 record.
 
Quincy wasted zero time getting its offense going, putting up a four spot in the first inning courtesy of RBI singles from Cole Erickson and Carson Moreno, along with a two-RBI double from Byron Blaise in his first at-bat as a Hawk. Kade Ruffner would earn the start for the Hawks, as LMU would answer with an unearned run in the bottom half.
 
The offense would continue to roll into the second inning for QU. A leadoff double for Ben Dahlof would kick things off, and Joe Huffman would knock him in with an RBI single to left field, reaching base for the second time in as many at-bats. Once again, the Railsplitters would answer with a run of their own. Ruffner would retire the first two batters of the inning, but back-to-back hits would make it a 5-2 game after two.
 
A walk from Ruffner to begin the bottom of the third would come around to score courtesy of the Hawks's second error of the game. An RBI groundout would bring in the third unearned run of the game, making it 5-4 Hawks. Ruffner would continue to struggle to find the strike zone, and after back-to-back walks, his day was finished after 2.1 innings. Tom Conzemius was the first out of the bullpen for the Hawks, as the defense would continue to struggle, making a third error in the field, allowing the third unearned run of the inning to come across the plate and knot things up at five apiece after three innings.
 
Lincoln Memorial would take its first lead of the game after the leadoff man reached base on a dropped third strike and would come around to score after a two-out error from the Hawks. Heading to the fifth, the Hawks would quickly pose a threat as the first three men of the inning would reach, but a fielder's choice and a 6-3 double play would quickly put an end to the Hawks's top half.
 
Conzemius would make quick work of LMU in the 5th and 6th, as the Railsplitters went down in order, with the Hawks trailing 6-5 heading to the back third. Erickson would reach base for the second time via a one-out single to right field, representing the tying run. A fielder's choice would advance Erickson into scoring position with two outs. The Railsplitters would proceed to return the favor with an error of their own, allowing Erickson to come all the way around to score the tying run.
 
Heading into the 8th inning, Quincy once again loaded the bases after a single and two hit-by pitches, but the LMU bullpen held strong, striking out Erickson to keep things tied at six. Conzemius would trot out for his fifth inning of work out of the bullpen, looking to continue his dominance. The Railsplitters center fielder would tag Conzemius with a one-out double to left field and would advance to third with two outs after a sac-fly. The Hawks were one out away from keeping things tied, but the fifth wild pitch of the game for Quincy allowed LMU to take a 7-6 lead. Conzemius would go on to strike out the next batter for his ninth of the game.
 
QU headed into the 9th, trailing by one, with just three outs to work with. Blaise got the offense started with an infield single to second base. Freshman right-hander for the Railsplitters, in his second collegiate appearance, would strike out back-to-back batters, leaving the Hawks down to their final out. Jake Vitale would extend the game with a single to right field, with Blaise going first to third, ninety feet away from tying the game. Dahlof was next in line already with two hits in the game. The junior outfielder battled with a 2-2 count, but the ballgame would end with a flyout to center field and a final score of 7-6 in favor of the Railsplitters.
 
Quincy outhit Lincoln Memorial 15-3, but the Hawks were unable to cash in on multiple opportunities, leaving 12 men on base. Four errors led to five unearned runs for the Railsplitters, ultimately being the deciding factor in the contest. Conzemius takes the loss despite 5.1 innings of one-hit baseball out of the bullpen.
 
The Hawks will look to regroup as they on Lincoln Memorial for game two of a three game set tomorrow afternoon (Feb. 8) at 1:00 PM ET.