MARYVILLE, Mo. - The Lincoln baseball out-hit Northwest Missouri, 8-7, to force extra innings, but the Bearcats used an RBI single to hand LU a 3-2 loss on Friday (March 18).

The Bearcats held a 2-1 lead entering the eighth inning, but a one-out solo homerun from Mike Million tied the game. The Blue Tigers stranded a Northwest Missouri runner on second in the bottom of the frame, but ended up going three-up, three-down in the top of the ninth. Lincoln then retired the NWMSU side in four at-bats to force a 10th frame.

Dillon Walker reached on a walk in the top of the 10th, but the Blue Tigers were unable to push him across the plate. In the bottom of the inning, Lincoln (1-19, 0-10 MIAA) got its first out on a sacrifice bunt by Northwest Missouri (11-9, 6-4 MIAA). A wild pitch ended up sending the winning run to third, however, and a single into left field ended the game with the Bearcats on top.

The Blue Tigers initially took the lead in the second inning, with a Daniel Castillo double scoring Mason Price. Price had initially reached on a wild pitch before Castillo's hit scored him from first. Northwest Missouri tied the game on an RBI single in the bottom of the third before using a ground out RBI in the very next at-bat to take a 2-1 lead. That's where the score would remain until Million's homerun in the eighth.

Dillon Walker and Dylan Koehler each had two hits for LU while Price and Ludwick also had one apiece. Starter Zach Maskill lasted seven innings and struck out four Bearcat batters. Defensively, Kaleb Davis led the Blue Tigers with 11 putouts while Alex Ludwick was next with four. Koehler added five assists and Walker finished with four.

Lincoln will remain in Maryville, Mo. on Saturday (March 19) to play a rematch with the Bearcats at 2:00 p.m. CDT.