For the first time in four years, Lincoln Christian is headed back to the state tournament.

The Bulldogs battled back from a series-opening loss on Thursday to win two elimination games vs. Kingston and punch their ticket to the Class 3A state tournament.

After losing a 1-0 lead on Thursday afternoon and falling 6-2 to Kingston, Lincoln responded in a big way.

The Bulldogs scored 13 runs in the second inning of game two on Thursday en route to a 19-6 win, forcing a winner-take-all game on Friday morning.

Lincoln responded with a 7-4 win, leading from start to finish to move their record to 32-6 and head to the program's 6th state tournament all-time.

"I am so proud of our kids," said Lincoln head coach Greg Harmon after Friday's win. "It was a night and day difference to how we responded last year."

Last season, Lincoln was in a great position to take a series lead in super regionals at Jones, leading late before falling.

The Bulldogs were unable to respond last year, being swept by the Longhorns and ending their season just short of state.

However, this year, Lincoln bounced back quickly and in a big way.

"Our kids responded perfectly after a disappointing loss in game one and that's what I have come to expect from them this year," Harmon said. "They have always answered the call and this is a testament to the hard work from all of these guys and coaches over the past couple of years. It's finally paying dividends."

Lincoln is the No. 5 seed in the state tournament and will face the No. 4 seed OCS on Thursday at 1:30 p.m in the opening round at Norman North High School.

"It should be a really competitive battle," said Harmon. "I think both teams are pretty similar and either one of us has a great chance to win a state tournament game."

Lincoln is 0-5 all time in the state tournament, but the Bulldogs feel they have their best chance to win the program's first state game this season.

"We have multiple high-quality arms available to us as starters or in the bullpen and that gives us a lot of confidence," said Harmon. "We also have a versatile offensive that can manufacture runs in multiple ways by hitting for power, playing a little small ball and taking advantage of situational hitting."

As the Bulldogs have already set a school record for wins in a season, Harmon and his team are planning to take it all in this week and go give it their best shot to keep this historic season alive.

"We are enjoying this week and grateful for the opportunity to continue playing," said Harmon. "Now it's time to go take advantage of it."

LINCOLN 7, KINGSTON 4

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead and didn't look back, as Lincoln was in complete control from start to finish on Friday afternoon at John Howerton Field.

Aiden Hendren pitched six strong innings for Lincoln before giving way to Carter Ricke for the final three outs, as the dogpile ensued on the infield and sent the Bulldogs back to the state tournament.

"Aiden was great for us and pitched outstandingly," said Harmon. "He only gave up one earned run and showed a bunch of maturity by pitching instead of just throwing max effort fastballs over and over."

Hendren scattered six hits and walked three hitters while striking out seven on 112 pitches.

"He used all three of his pitches effectively," said Harmon. "He was in great control of his fastball, curveball and changeup."

Hendren helped offensively too, as the sophomore ripped an RBI single to give Lincoln a 1-0 lead in the first inning before classmate Jax Crumbliss doubled down the line to score two and make it 3-0 Lincoln through an inning.

Kingston cut into the lead with a run in the 2nd before the Bulldogs added other the lead in the bottom half.

After Hendren drove in Cole Dooley with a sac fly, freshman Major Brooks doubled to center to score senior leadoff Chandler Cozbey to make it 5-1.

"We got up and had a great balanced approach offensively," said Harmon. "We played some small ball and had some extra base hits. Getting out to an early 5-1 lead helped provide us a nice cushion."

Kingston scored two in the 3rd to make it 5-3 before Lincoln added two more in the 5th.

Dooley drove in Reed Martin on an RBI groundout, followed by an RBI single from Ricke to left to make it 7-3.

The senior got the final three outs, working around two singles to close it out with a pop up to himself in his final home game.

"Carter did a great job coming in during a high leverage situation and shutting the door for us," said Harmon.

Crumbliss was 2-for-3 with two doubles, while Dooley was 2-for-2.

Ricke had two hits, while Brooks was 3-for-4 in the win.

Cozbey reached base three times, scored three runs and had two steals for Lincoln.

LINCOLN 19, KINGSTON 6

A huge second inning put the game away early for Lincoln in a do-or-die game on Thursday night, as the Bulldogs exploded for 13 runs early.

Silas Goff's grand slam highlighted an inning that lasted almost an hour as Lincoln piled on the runs early and held on throughout.

"It was one of the biggest offensive explosions I have had in my coaching career," said Harmon. "It was really cool to see Silas hit that grand slam. His first homer as a Lincoln Bulldog was a big one for us."

Goff was 2-for-4 with six RBIs in the win, as eight of nine Lincoln hitters had multiple hits in the win.

The Bulldogs finished with 20 hits the win and allowed Harmon to save Hendren for Friday's game after the big 2nd inning.

Hendren worked around one hit in the bottom of the first and quickly was pulled after Lincoln went crazy in the top of the 2nd.

"He threw just 14 pitches because of the big lead and that ended up being huge for us on Friday," said Harmon.

Cade Ryan allowed six runs but just two earned in 1.2 innings of work in relief before giving way to Cozbey for the final 3.1 innings.

"We had to use Chandler late despite wanting to save him," said Harmon. "Kingston has good bats throughout lineup and we wanted to make sure we stayed in control."

Cozbey allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out three on 48 pitches.

Kingston answered with three runs in the 2nd and three more in the 3rd before Lincoln score two in the 5th and four more in the 6th.

Ricke was 3-of-6 with a double in the win. Brooks was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.

Lane Hunter was 3-for-4, while Dooley was also 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.

Beaux Brumble was 2-for-3 with an RBI, two steals and two walks. Cozbey reached base four times, as well.

KINGSTON 6, LINCOLN 2

Lincoln led through five innings and looked to be on its way to a big game one win before Kingston rallied in the 6th inning on Thursday afternoon.

Carter Hunter started for Lincoln, as the senior allowed just one hit and struck out eight hitters through five innings.

But an error, a walk and several timely hits allowed Kingston to score five runs in the top of the 6th and take a 5-1 lead, something Lincoln could not overcome.

"Carter pitched really well for five innings and it was good enough to win," said Harmon. "But we had some uncharacteristic defensive mistakes that cost us and allowed them to go up 2-1 and eventually 3-1 that we couldn't overcome."

Ricke entered for Hunter and allowed one earned run while recording two outs before giving way to Cade Ryan.

Lincoln was able to cut into the lead with a run in the bottom of the 6th but left two runners on base as Kingston closed it out.

"It was disappointing but not concerning," said Harmon. "I told the guys I wasn't worried because I knew what we had been through and how they had responded."

Ricke was 2-for-4 and Hendren was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs in the loss.

Goff was 2-for-3.

Hunter allowed four earned runs in 5.1 innings of work.



Photos by Lee Talley