lincolnpotters.com

The Potters showcased offensive firepower by turning a two-run deficit into four-run lead, but another lead change led to the end of the team’s seven-game winning streak.

Manager Ryan Stevens is still pleased with the best start in team history. “It feels good,” Stevens said. “I’d like to get this one and keep going. But it’s good for us to try to find a way to battle back and lose one early so we know what it’s like.”

Jeffrey David (University of New Mexico) placed a base hit single into left field in his first at-bat of the season before stealing second base. Dan Pruitt (Oklahoma Baptist University) scored David by hitting a groundball single up the middle, giving the Potters a 1-0 lead.

Pruitt went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

Yankee Christian Smith’s RBI single tied the game in the second inning. And JD Madrigal’s RBI-double off the wall gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead in the third inning.

Sound defense kept Lincoln in the game until its offense could deliver. After Smith’s second-inning RBI, Potter catcher Troy Shields (Oklahoma Baptist University) threw Smith out while attempting to steal second base. After an errant fifth-inning throw bounced into the Potter outfield, David scooped the ball and threw out the Yankee baserunner attempting to steal third base.

The Potters recaptured momentum in the fifth inning when Brandon Motheral (University of Pacific) continued his power hitting. After David singled, Motheral slammed a homerun over the left field wall to tie the game. Not satisfied with a tie, Justin Olson (University of New Mexico) followed by crushing a pitch far over the right field wall to reclaim the lead. Drew Stahl kept the Potters rolling with a groundball single. After hitting a pitch into right field, Nolan Clifford (Creighton University) raced around first base and slid into second turning his base hit into a double. Trey Furrey capped the fifth inning with an RBI-single, and Clifford scored on a catching error, giving the Potters a 7-3 lead.

Motheral went 2-for-5 with a walk and two RBI.

But the Sacramento Yankees came back in the seventh inning, and a two-RBI single by Scott David tied the game 7-7. Joey Dice walked to load the bases, and Christian Smith’s groundball single scored two runs.

The Potters play the Gold Sox at Marysville tomorrow and will start league play Friday at McBean Park against the Solano Mudcats.

You can find tonight’s box score here.