Railsplitters walk it off on Senior
Night 3-2
[May 12, 2026]
The Lincoln Railsplitters found themselves down to their last
out in the bottom of the seventh inning on Monday night, trailing
2-1 to the Rantoul Eagles, when Chase March hit a line drive to
right that scored Grady Rutledge with the tying run and Tate Aue
with the winning run.
Rutledge had walked to start the bottom of the seventh inning.
Carson Fuiten drew a walk with two outs in the inning and he was
relieved on the base paths by the courtesy runner, Tate Aue.
March’s hit on the 1-1 count gave Lincoln a thrilling 3-2 comeback
win on Senior Night.
The Railsplitters scored a run in the bottom of the first inning.
Karson Komnick and Austin Lucas hit back-to-back singles to start
the inning. Grady Rutledge, hitting in the no. 3 spot, was hit by a
pitch to load the bases. After Komnick was out at home on a
fielder’s choice, Bryce Vlahovich drew a walk to score Lucas with
the first run of the game.
Lincoln threatened to score in the fourth inning with Sampson Kurka,
Kane Komnick and Karson Komnick loading the bases on singles with
only one out. A double play ended the inning with the lead remaining
1-0.
Rantoul recorded a double play to end the fifth inning also.
An error in the top of the seventh inning came back to haunt the
Railsplitters. The first batter in the inning reached base on an
error and the next three guys swatted singles and a double. Luckily,
after the double was hit, the third guy trying to score was thrown
out at home. Rantoul found themselves with their first lead of the
game and thankfully, for Railer fans, it was short-lived.
Carson Fuiten added win no. 24 to his career at LCHS as he worked
the complete seven inning game, allowing four hits and two runs.
Only one run was earned. He walked one and struck out nine. Carson
Clyde threw 85 pitches and 62 were strikes.
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Congratulations to seniors Austin Lucas, Sampson Kurka, Karson
Komnick and Carson Fuiten for their dedication to the Railsplitter
baseball program. Photo by Teena Lowery
Lincoln slugged ten hits versus the Eagles.
The Komnick boys, Karson and Kane, each had two hits.
Sampson Kurka and Austin Lucas each had two hits too.
Owen Comstock and Chase March rounded out the offense with one hit
apiece.
Eli Reichenbach was the losing pitcher for Rantoul.
Congratulations to seniors Carson Fuiten, Austin Lucas, Karson
Komnick and Sampson Kurka. The four seniors were recognized before
the game for their four years of dedication to the baseball program.
Lincoln (17-8) will play at Springfield Southeast today at 4:30 p.m.
[Teena Lowery]
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