It has been an encouraging start for Lincoln Christian softball across the first week and a half of the regular season, as the Bulldogs took some losses early, but have rebounded with wins in four of the last five games.

Lincoln (4-4) picked up a win over Oktaha last Friday and swept Salina in a double header on Monday after starting the season 0-3.

Lincoln then beat Haskell on Thursday in Claremore at the RSU festival to continue its hot stretch.

"The girls have responded really well to coaching so far and have been playing well together," said head coach Greg Harmon. "They have been awesome at handling adversity and have kept a positive mindset amidst the tough start."

Lincoln lost 21-10 to Dewey to open the season, followed by an 8-1 loss to Adair a day later.

The Bulldogs suffered a tough loss last Thursday, losing to Kellyville 3-2 before winning over Oktaha 9-8 last Friday.

Lincoln lost to Latta 16-4 on Saturday before returning home for district play action on Monday.

That's where Lincoln took care of business, beating Salina 5-2 and 20-5.

The Bulldogs capped off the perfect week with an 8-5 win over Haskell on Thursday.

"I was proud of our girls," said Harmon. "We have talked a lot about controlling what we can control and that is attitude, effort and body language."

Harmon praised his senior pitcher Haylee Delozier, who has pitched 42 of 46 innings thus far.

"She has carried us and is the entire pitching staff for us most of the time," said Harmon. "She has improved every time she has gone out and I've been proud of her for battling early on."

He also highlighted his freshman group for their early contributions and how big of a step they have taken against more experienced competition this quickly.

"Our other two freshman arms have shown some long-term potential in their limited action but they are not quite ready for big time pressure spots yet,' Harmon said.

"I have been really pleased with our five freshman that have played for us. It is a big time jump to go from playing 14U to 19U and they have had great attitude, effort and have been very coachable thus far."

Harmon is pleased with his team's start thus far, as the Bulldogs sit at .500 in district play and overall through the first two weeks of the season.

"We are right in the middle of the race with bunch of games left to play," he said. "Our girls have been really coachable with great attitudes and effort. If we can continue to do that, we can really be a scary team by season's end."

Lincoln hosts Claremore Sequoyah on Monday at 4:30 p.m. in a district matchup before traveling to Dewey on Tuesday for a 5 p.m. district contest.

The Bulldogs will be at Mannford on Thursday at 5 p.m. to close out the week.

DEWEY 21, LINCOLN 10

After battling early, a late flurry of runs proved too much for Lincoln to overcome in the season opener last Monday vs. Dewey.

Lincoln scored six runs in the bottom of the 4th to tie the game at 7-7, as the offense came alive.

However, Dewey scored two more in the 5th and five more in the 6th to pull in front. The Bulldoggers added on seven more runs in the top of the 7th.

"We came back and tied the game but fell apart late," said Harmon. "Haylee had thrown 138 pitches and we went to our young freshman and the game got away from us."

Lincoln was led offensively by Delozier, who was 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, triple and five RBIs.

"The game was much closer than the final score would indicate as things were close in the 6th," said Harmon.

Sophie Ellis also had two hits for Lincoln in the loss.

ADAIR 8, LINCOLN 1

Lincoln struggled to get anything going on offense in the following day's loss to Adair, as Delozier battled on the mound again but the Bulldogs had just four hits.

Adair jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead and never looked back.

Delozier pitched the complete game, working around four errors.

"We had quality at bats through but just couldn't get anything going," said Harmon.

Ellis had two more hits for Lincoln, going 2-for-3 with an RBI double.

KELLYVILLE 3, LINCOLN 2

Lincoln had a great chance to get its first win of the Harmon era but came up just short last Thursday vs. Kellyville.

Lincoln got down early as the Ponies scored two runs in the 3rd to take a 2-0 lead.

The Bulldogs played well enough to win, but had some bad breaks throughout the game that proved to be costly.

"It was a tough luck loss where the ball didn't go our way several times."

Kellyville added a run in the top of the 7th on a weird bounce on play at the plate that helped the Warriors add to their lead.

The Bulldogs had a chance to make things interesting late, as Delozier stepped to the plate with the two on.

The senior walked to load the bases but Adair got the final out in the next at bat to end the game.

Delozier went all seven innings, scattering seven hits and walking just one while striking out eight.

She also was 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a double for Lincoln.

LINCOLN 9, OKTAHA 8

The Bulldogs got their first win of the season, as Lincoln held on late and beat Oktaha at the Haskell Festival.

Lincoln jumped out to a huge lead, scoring six runs in the first and three more in the 4th to take a 9-3 lead.

The Bulldogs held on as Oktaha scored five runs in the 5th to make things close but came up just short.

"We played strong all around and had a good day at the plate, on the mound and defensively," said Harmon.

Delozier pitched all five innings again, battling through another contest and giving Lincoln a chance to win.

"Haylee was visibly fatigued but I'm proud of her for battling and finding a way to get us that last out," said Harmon.

Elizabeth Eddings was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Ellis was 1-for-2 with an RBI double.

Delozier was 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Pritchard was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

LINCOLN 5, SALINA 2

Lincoln picked up the first of two district wins last Tuesday, leaning on a strong pitching performance from Delozier once again.

Delozier pitched the complete seven innings, allowing just three hits and walking none. She struck out three.

"She was outstanding and pitched all three games for us last week, when it was extremely hot," said Harmon. "She has had tremendous effort while getting really tired but has gutted it out every time. She has a ton of grit, tenacity and leadership."

Ellis had an RBI double to help Lincoln offensively, while leadoff Aspen Beers was 2-for-2 with an RBI and two walks, reaching base four times.

Errington Koehn also had two hits, going 2-for-3 in the win.

Lincoln scored two in the first and another in the third to lead 3-0 early.

Salina cut into the lead with a run in the 4th and the 5th, but Lincoln added two more in the 6th to extend the lead to 5-2.

LINCOLN 20, SALINA 5

In the second game of last week's doubleheader, the Lincoln offense exploded, scoring in every inning in a huge win and sweep over Salina.

The Bulldogs trailed early, as Salina took a 2-1 lead through an inning.

But Lincoln responded in a big way.

Lincoln quickly took the lead with five runs in the 2nd, and piled on six more in the 3rd to go ahead 12-2.

The Bulldogs added three more runs in the 4th and another five in the 5th.

"Our team is at its best when we are mixing in singles, bunting, slap hitting and playing the hit-and-run game," said Harmon. "We are trying to manipulate the game offensively and we did that well this week."

Eddings was 2-for-5 with a double and five RBIs, scoring three runs.

Samantha Lofstrom was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while Ellis also was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.

Koehn was 2-for-4 with an RBI double and three runs scored, while Braxli Brown and Breylin Wichman also had RBI doubles for Lincoln in the win.

Delozier was outstanding again at the plate, going 4-for-5 with four RBIs. Aspen Beers was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI for Lincoln.

Delozier also went all five innings, allowing eight hits and five runs (two earned) while walking three and striking out four.

LINCOLN 8, HASKELL 5

Lincoln kept the momentum going two days later, as Harmon and his gang won their third straight at the RSU Festival in Claremore over Haskell.

After leading 3-1 in the final inning, Haskell made a late charge to tie the game at 3-3 and send it to extras.

But the Bulldogs immediately answered back.

Lincoln scored five runs in the top of the 6th to take a big 8-3 lead and held on in the bottom half.

"Our Haskell win was driven entirely by small ball pressure and it's good to see that style of play immediately pay off in a big way for us," said Harmon.

Lincoln led 1-0 through two innings and 2-0 through the 3rd. The Bulldogs took the 3-1 lead into the bottom of the 4th before Haskell answered back.

Pritchard was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for Lincoln.

Koehn was 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Delozier, Elilis and Loftsrom each singled in the win.

Delozier went all six innings on the mound for Lincoln, allowing five runs (two earned) on five hits. She walked just two and struck out a season high seven hitters.