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“It was a big response out of them,” said manager Ryan Stevens “We've been really challenging the team this week and trying to tell them to put together better at bats. The biggest thing is just to compete. We're out here to play summer ball and get better, but we also have to have grit and we have to compete and you know, the fans of Lincoln deserve it.”

Lincoln did just that in the second inning, plating five runs to explode out to an early lead. JT Waldon (Folsom Lake College) got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly before Jeffrey David (New Mexico) brought two more home. The Potters added another off of an error to make it 4-0 before Brandon Motheral (Pacific) brought a fifth run home with an RBI single.

Drew Stahl (transfer portal) put the exclamation point on the game, sending a line drive three-run homer over the right field fence in the eight to bring the lead up to 9-1.

Lincoln was aggressive on the base paths, stealing eight bases in the contest. Stahl and David each swiped two.

On the mound, starting pitcher Anthony Perez (CSU East Bay) earned the win with a dominant outing. The right hander went six innings and allowed just one run, unearned, on three hits with five strikeouts. Hunter Hayes (Pacific) and Ryan Sturgeon (LSU-Shreveport) shut down the final three innings to close the door and preserve the win.

“Anthony just keeps getting better every start and Hayes came in and dominated for two,” said Stevens.  “Sturgeon’s an everyday guy if we need him to be and he really shut the door. I think the biggest thing is we limited the free passes and really attacked the zone.”

Lincoln will be back home tomorrow to face off with the defending CCL champions, the Healdsburg Prune Packers. The Packers and Potters faced off on Thursday with Healdsburg taking a narrow 3-2 victory. Stevens and his squad are eager to even the season series in tomorrow’s Father’s Day evening matchup.

“Hopefully we can stay ahead and pitch ahead,” Stevens said. “But Healdsburg is always a really good team. I think it's going to be a dogfight tomorrow for sure.”

You can find tonight’s box score here.