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By Jordan Georgeson

The Lincoln Potters continued their recent hot streak in CCL play last night with their win over the Walnut Creek Crawdads. Walnut Creek struck first with an RBI triple in the first inning but the Potters answered back quickly, putting up two runs of their own in the bottom of the first. LIncoln added four more runs in the middle three innings to extend their lead to 6-1. The Crawdads wouldn't go quietly however, scoring a run in the seventh and eighth innings to close the gap to 6-3. The Potters rallied late with a big three-run eighth inning to slam the door on any hopes Walnut Creek had for a comeback to win the game 9-3. Last night’s win is the Potters’ fifth in a row and they have taken eight of their last nine CCL games.

Garret Forrester was a force at the plate for the Potters, going 3-4 with four RBI in the contest. Forrester had two doubles in the game that accounted for three of his runs batted in. Trey Furrey launched a solo shot over the fence in left field for his first homer of the season on a night that he went 2-4. Trevor Haskins and Carson Blatnick each had two hits and an RBI in the contest as well. Mason Holt and Jason Brandow each added runs for the Potters with an RBI each. Lincoln also took advantage of several errors by Walnut Creek defensively, turning those errors into runs on their end. The Potters totaled nine runs on twelve hits and left just seven on base.

Starting pitcher Shane Gustafson had another impressive outing, earning the win while pitching five innings and allowing just four hits and one run and no walks. Gustafson had the opposition fooled at the plate all night, catching four Crawdad batters looking and striking out eight in total. Matt Voelker entered the game in relief and pitched three innings, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out two batters as well. Voelker pitched in one of the most crucial moments of the game in the sixth inning when the Crawdads loaded the bases with just one out. Voelker retired the next two batters to keep the Crawdads off the board and preserve the Potter lead. Ryan Bruno entered in the ninth to shut things down for the Potters, striking out two of the four batters he faced.

“Gus pitches like a veteran every time he’s out there, he commands three pitches for a strike and it’s really tough for hitters to adjust to that. It really gives this dugout momentum whenever he’s on the mound.” said manager Ryan Stevens after the game. “Now our guys are starting to put together good at bats, our pitchers are throwing really well, it’s all starting to come together.”

The Potters are back in action tonight against the Solano Mudcats at McBean for the first of a two-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05pm. Watch the Potters live on Facebook and listen on Potters Radio via the mixlr app. Also follow along on twitter @LincolnPotters to get live updates!

You can find tonight’s box score here.