Lincoln Christian has been one of the hottest teams in the state over the past month.

And the Bulldogs did nothing but keep things rolling over the weekend, as Lincoln went on the road to beat Jones on Saturday and closed out the regular season with a home win over Verdigris on Monday.

Lincoln (26-5) has won 10 straight to close out the regular season and will host regionals this Thursday and Friday.

The Bulldogs open play on Thursday at 11 a.m. when Lincoln plays Keys.

The other two teams in the regional are Holland Hall and Atoka.

Lincoln finished district play as those champions of 3A-6 with an 11-1 record, but the Bulldogs were also 15-4 in non-district with some impressive wins.

"Our non-district resume is impressive across our contests against 6A, 5A and 4A competition," said Lincoln head coach Greg Harmon.

"We didn't just play lower-tier teams but challenged ourselves with solid competition all year long. We are hoping to be worthy of a top-four seed if we make it to super regionals."

However, Harmon and his group realize that all your previous work is irrelevant now that the postseason begins.

"We are resetting to a 0-0 mentality," said Harmon. "Nothing matters except our region now. Our kids are focused and bought in to being an effective ground pressure team and I think our ability to be multiple in how we attack teams should serve us well as the postseason goes along."

Lincoln has a chance to set the record for the most wins in school history if they are able to make it through regionals and super regionals, something that speaks volumes to the type of team the Bulldogs have this season.

"I would put our kids up against anybody in Class 3A," said Harmon. "We have a great shot to accomplish a lot this postseason if we can take it one game at a time and play to our ability."

LINCOLN 8, JONES 3

The Bulldogs got down early and finished with a flurry of runs late in a road win at Jones on Saturday, as Lincoln finished off the sweep of the Longhorns this season.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st before falling behind 3-1 in the 2nd.

Neither team scored in the next four innings before the Bulldogs got things going late, piling on seven runs in the top of the 7th.

Senior Chandler Cozbey led off the inning with a single, followed by another base hit by senior Carter Ricke and a hit by pitch from sophomore Aiden Hendren to load the bases.

Freshman Major Brooks ripped a single to score Cozbey and Ricke to tie the game, followed by a couple of suicide squeeze bunts from Beaux Brumble and Jaxon Crumbliss to make It 5-3.

Cozbey came back up to put the game away, as the senior cleared the bases with a double and made it 8-3.

"It showcased our veteran mentality and '21 out game' philosophy," said Harmon. "IT was the fourth time through their pitcher's lineup and it paid off."

The Bulldogs took down Jones in dramatic fashion for the second time this year, after Lincoln beat the Longhorns in extras 7-6 earlier this season.

"The score doesn't reelect how good Jones really is," said Harmon. "They will be dangerous in the playoffs."

"I was proud of our kids ability to stay steady in another close game, as we have done all year long. They never get too high or too low because they are a veteran group."

Ricke opened the game with a basest and Brooks drove him in with a clutch two-out RBI single.

Hendren pitched four innings after getting the start. He allowed three earned runs and three hits, along with two walks.

Carter Hunter came through big for Lincoln in relief, throwing three shutout innings, allowing just a single hit and striking out three.

Brooks, Ricke, Cozbey and Crumbliss each had two hits in the win.

LINCOLN 9, VERDIGRIS 6

The Bulldogs honored their seniors with a final regular season victory on Monday night, as Lincoln outlasted Verdigris at home in an exciting win.

Lincoln beat an upper tier 4A team in the Cardinals (23-7) by using a bullpen day and small ball to get it done.

The Bulldogs fell behind early and trailed 5-1 heading into the bottom of the 4th before cutting into the lead with three runs heading to the 5th.

But a 5-run 6th inning put Lincoln in front by four and the Bulldogs held on.

"Our dual threat approach is becoming our identity," said Harmon. "We can hit the baseball and execute our bunt game to pick teams apart."

"When you can do both, teams don't really know how to defend you."

Brumble and Lane Hunter scored on errors when Crumbliss laid down a bunt early in the 6th to put Lincoln up 6-5.

Cole Dooley drove in Crumbliss with an RBI on a fielder's choice to push the lead to two before Cozbey singled to right to score Dooley and make it 8-5.

Ricke added the final run on a bunt single to score Cozbey in the next at bat.

Lincoln used four pitchers in the win, as Ricke started and pitched 2.1 innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits and a walk.

Cozbey finished the third, working around two walks.

Kade Poplin allowed four unearned runs in the 4th during his one inning of work before giving way to Carter Hunter for the final three innings, where he allowed just one earned run and struck out four.

Ricke was 3-for-4 in the win, while Brumble was 2-for-2.

Crumbliss and Dooley each drove in two runs in the bottom of the lineup for Lincoln.




Photos by Lee Talley