Lincoln Wolves Squeeze By Brookland

LINCOLN — The Wolves won their first-ever State 4A Baseball tournament game by defeating Brookland in a nail-biter on May 9 at Harrison.

“It was a 2-1 ballgame, it got a little tricky at the end,” said Lincoln coach Brad Harris.

With the Wolves’ leading, 2-1, in the last inning, Brookland loaded the bases.

With the bottom of the order and the Bearcats’ 8-9-1 hitters coming up, their leadoff guy hit a ball that bounced off Lincoln starter Tyler Cummings’ leg and the Bearcats got a runner on. The next Brookland batter deadened the ball right in front of the plate where Lincoln catcher Dakota Riggin scooped it up but threw it over first baseman’s head for an error.

“They had runners on first and third and we were starting to sweat a little bit then,” Harris said.

Yet, the Wolves continued to make defensive stops and both Cummings and Riggin would redeem the inning. Lincoln got the Bearcats’ number one hitter out, who had earlier blasted a home run off Cummings on the third pitch of the game.

With the game and their state tournament appearance on the line, Lincoln slammed the door shut. The Bearcats’ two-hole batter hit a ground ball back to Cummings on the mound, The junior pitcher fielded the ball, looked to third to hold the runner there, and threw the batter out at first.

The runner at third broke home to try and score when the throw went to first but Lincoln first baseman Kaleb Ayers threw him out at the plate to end the game with a terrific 1-3-2 double play.

“It was a play where Kaleb came off and made a great throw to the plate. Dakota did a great job of covering the plate and made the catch. It was a huge win for us,” Harris said.

Lincoln scored on a solo home run by Ossy Escareno (his second of the year) in the fourth inning and tied the game, at 1-1. In the fifth, Cord McCaslin doubled and Payton Hulse drove him in with a single to push Lincoln ahead, 2-1.

Harris was rejoicing over several individual performances and the overall team play.

“Ossy’s solo home run tied it up in the fourth. Tyler Cummings threw a complete game with 76 pitches. He did not record a strikeout on the day. They were putting the bat on the ball and we played really good defense behind him. We made 21 outs in the field,” Harris said.

Offensively, Escareno was 1-3 with the solo home run. McCaslin, Hulse and Colton Barnum each went 1-3.

“There were only four hits on our side. They [Brookland] had only two hits. Both were in first inning. Their kid threw 81 pitches, It was a real pitcher’s duel,” Harris said.

Harris noted Cummings settled in after the first inning. After giving up a home run to the Bearcats’ leadoff hitter, the number two batter hit a single but Lincoln threw him out when he tried to steal a base.

“We made some good plays. That was a big win for us. After losing five starters from last year’s team. I’m real pleased with the way our kids played all year long,” Harris said.