Lincoln baseball suffers first league loss

The Lincoln County High School baseball team split its two final home games on April 26 against Laughlin.

After winning its first game of the doubleheader, 7-2, the Lynx lost the second game, 10-5, giving the team its first league loss of 2019.

In the first game, Lincoln scored two runs right off the bat. Laughlin answered with a run in the bottom of the first. Lincoln scored four more by the fifth inning and one more in the top of the sixth. Laughlin only managed one more run and Lincoln took the win.

Mckinley O’Connor pitched and struck out seven.

Kamdon Lewis went 2-for-4 with one triple. Kobe Walker and Dean Ottley went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. O’Connor hit a triple and had one RBI.

The second game, Laughlin took the lead early with four runs in the top of the first. Lincoln followed with two runs of their own, but Laughlin didn’t let up and continued to score. In the final innings, Lincoln tried to catch, but fell short.

Kobe Walker and Kobe Kelley pitched and each struck out two. Talon Phillips also pitched, with four strikeouts.

Mason Thornock hit 2-for-3 with one RBI. Ottley went 1-for-4 with one double and one RBI. O’Connor was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Alex Vincent hit 1-for-2 with a triple.

“Laughlin just outplayed us the second game,” said coach Raymond Wadsworth. “[Laughlin] made good plays and we hit the ball hard, but right to them. They were very confident with the pitcher they had on the mound.”

The coach hopes the loss will serve as motivation as his team heads to the postseason.

“I think it was good for us. It was important for us to redirect our motives and review our goals.”

Lincoln (22-2, 11-1), still at the top of the 2A Southern League, played its final regular season game against second place Meadows (17-3, 10-2) on May 2.Laughlin (15-4, 9-3) and Needles (14-6, 8-4) round out the top four. The teams will compete in the 2A Southern League playoffs, May 9-11 at Mountain View High School in Las Vegas.