Sophomore Kobe Kelley pitches during the 2A Southern Regional Championship tournament in Las Vegas.
Lincoln County High School baseball dominated the regional tournament May 9-11. Winning every game, the Lynx beat Needles 16-3, Laughlin 7-5 and Meadows 10-3. The team will be the No. 1 seed for the South as they head into the state tournament.
“This weekend went as well as anyone could hope,” said coach Raymond Wadsworth. “Pitching was great, defense was solid, hitting was right there. It felt good to win the divisions again.”
Lincoln began the game against Needles with some heavy hits. By the top of the third inning, the Lynx had already bagged a six-run lead. Lincoln then held Needles at three runs and continued to score, ending the game in a short five innings.
Mckinley O’Connor and Kobe Kelley struck out two, respectively. Alex Vincent struck out three.
Mason Thornock went 3-for-4 with one double and four RBIs. Kobe Walker was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Vincent was 2-for-3 with a double. Dean Ottley and O’Connor each hit a double and had two RBIs. Kamdon Lewis and Talon Phillips each had one hit and one RBI.
Lincoln then fought to remain the No. 1 seed against Laughlin, the only team to beat them in their regular league season. That game was a close one. Laughlin earned a run in the top of the first. Lincoln matched it and took the lead, but nobody scored until Laughlin tied it up in the third, 3-3, and took the lead in the fourth. Lincoln came alive in the bottom of the fourth to earn four more runs, holding off Laughlin to win the game 7-5.
Thornock pitched and struck out five. Vincent pitched again and struck out six.
Walker hit 2-for-3 with one double and an RBI. Ottley went 1-for-2 with two RBIs. O’Connor had a double and two RBIs.
With that win, Lincoln secured a trip to state and faced Meadows to decide who would be the No. 1 or No. 2 seed.
Lincoln took the lead early and continued to score steadily. They secured a three-run lead in the third inning, but weren’t done yet. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Lynx went off with five runs. Laughlin didn’t score again. That sealed Lincoln’s win and position as No. 1 seed, 10-3.
Vincent hit 3-for-4 with one RBI. Walker went 3-for-3 with a double. Ottley hit 1-for-3 with one RBI. Lewis went 2-for-3 with one double and an RBI. Mathew Hafen hit a triple and had two RBIs.
“Baseball’s a funny thing,” Wadsowrth said. “It is about throwing strikes and making all the routine plays, but having timely hits. What I mean by that is knowing the situation and doing whatever it takes to put the ball in play. Overall, throughout the weekend, we were able to do that. I just knew our guys were going to be solid and weren’t going to let anything stop them from being victorious.”
Now it’s on to the state tournament, another double-elimination bracket, May 16-18 at The Meadows School. Lincoln starts things off against Incline, while Meadows will face Yerington.
