The Lincoln University baseball team took advantage of good pitching and 10 Aggie errors to sweep Oklahoma Panhandle State, 6-1, and 7-2, Saturday afternoon in Heartland Conference action at Aggie Field.
Lincoln (5-15, 5-15 HC) received a solid start from senior Justin Forsythe in game one, as he held OPSU (5-19, 5-18 HC) to one run on four hits over six innings, before senior Cody Dudenhoeffer pitched a scoreless seventh.
The Blue Tigers opened the scoring in the second inning, as junior right fielder Adam Burcham singled to leadoff the inning and later advanced to third after stealing second and moving up the extra base on a fly out. Junior second baseman Joey Pate, batting out of the ninth slot, came through with an RBI single to plate Burcham with the first run of the game. One of the four Aggie errors in game one then accounted for the other run in the inning scoring junior third baseman Brian Patrick for the 2-0 advantage.
The Aggies tallied their lone run in the bottom of the third inning, before the Blue Tigers put the game out of reach in the top of the sixth.
Patrick doubled to open the frame and late came home on another RBI single from Pate to give Lincoln the 4-1 lead. An error later in the inning allowed the second run of the inning to score, before junior left fielder Gus Durst capped the inning with an RBI double to provide the final margin of victory.
Pate went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and a run scored, while Patrick tallied two hits and three runs scored.
Game two was similar to game one, as Lincoln took advantage of a two-run effort by three pitchers and six Aggie errors to complete the sweep.
Lincoln opened the scoring again, this time in the third, as Pate reached on a fielder’s choice to plate junior first baseman Cie Arell for the 1-0 lead.
OPSU tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, as the Aggies knocked junior left-hander Dustin Bess out of the game after 3.1 innings. Freshman right-hander Brian Golden came on in relief to limit the damage to just one run to keep the game tied heading into the fifth.
The Blue Tigers offense then delivered plenty in the fifth to put the game out of reach. Sophomore center fielder Chris Pfau delivered a two-run single and later came home on a two-run home run off the bat of Pate to give Lincoln the 5-1 advantage.
The Aggies tallied another run in the fifth, before Dudenhoeffer again came on in relief to slam the door, earning the save, going three innings without allowing a run or a walk and striking out two.
Pate and Pfau led the way offensively in game two, as both players tallied three RBI apiece, while senior designated hitter Kyle Lasley was the only Blue Tiger to record two hits.
Lincoln will continue their series with OPSU, as they will wrap-up the four-game set with another doubleheader on Sunday, with first pitch set for 12 p.m.