CARY, N.C. — Lincoln Memorial University baseball players Tyler Adams and Ethan Elliott played starring roles for the Coastal Plain League Select team’s matchup against the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team on Wednesday night at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.

Team USA ultimately prevailed 3-2 via a walk-off single, but LMU’s two All-Americans gave CPL Select a chance to pull off the upset.

Adams, a rising junior shortstop, put CPL Select in front in the top of the fifth inning when he broke a scoreless tie by connecting on a two-run home run. Adams launched the 400-foot bomb off righty Ryan Zeferjahn, a rising junior at the University of Kansas who earned second team All-Big 12 honors for the 2018 campaign after tying for the league lead in wins.

With Adams’ hit coming against a potential high-round MLB draft pick, it opened the eyes of several MLB scouts in attendance. In fact, MLB.com contributor Tom Shanahan noted Adams as a standout from Wednesday’s workout and games.

Shanahan quoted one scout as saying, “He hit a shot and did it in front of a lot of people against some big-time competition. That bodes well for him.”

On the mound, Elliott worked around three soft hits and a walk to keep Team USA scoreless in the bottom of the third inning – his only inning of work. The lefty struck out one.

Adams and Elliott earned NCBWA All-American status for the 2018 season, and both played pivotal roles in leading the Railsplitters to their second straight South Atlantic Conference title.

Elliott was tabbed as the SAC Championship Most Valuable Player after picking up a win against Carson-Newman in the tournament opener before returning three days later to hold Catawba scoreless over three innings of relief in the clincher. He was selected as the SAC Pitcher of the Year after producing a 10-3 overall record with a 2.95 ERA and program single-season record 124 strikeouts over 100.2 innings.

Adams helped set the stage for Elliott’s relief win in the SAC title game, as the then sophomore hammered a game-tying, three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to send it to extra innings, where the Railsplitters eventually pulled out a 9-7 victory in the 11th. All told, Adams hit .356 with a program-record 23 doubles, 72 runs, 12 homers and 49 RBI. He also led the team with a perfect 14-for-14 effort on stolen bases.

The Railsplitters finished the 2018 campaign with a 36-21 record, matching the program single-season mark for wins while making their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. LMU upset Georgia College – ranked No. 1 in one of the national polls – to kick off the Southeast Regional.

Adams and Elliott have had strong summer seasons thus far with the Coastal Plain League’s Peninsula Pilots. Adams leads the Pilots in hits (20), doubles (6), homers (4) and steals (5), while Elliott has matched a team-high mark with 20 strikeouts over 11.1 innings of action. He is 2-0 on the year with one save.