JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln baseball team hit four homeruns, including two by Mason Price, but the Blue Tigers were edged by Central Oklahoma, 8-7, on Saturday (April 16).

Price's second homer came in the bottom of the seventh and gave the Blue Tigers their first lead of the ballgame. Mike Million led the inning off with a base hit, and Price followed with a hit over the right field wall to give the Blue Tigers a 7-6 lead.

Central Oklahoma (22-15, 14-12 MIAA) responded with a two-RBI single in the top of the eighth, and neither team scored again afterwards. Lincoln entered the bottom of the ninth still trailing by one, but nearly tied the game when Dillon Walker led the frame off with a single. The Bronchos blew a chance at a double play with an error that allowed Million to safely reach, giving LU runners on the corners with nobody outs. UCO forced strikeout, a pop out and fly out in the next three at-bats, however, to escape with the win.

UCO took its first lead of the day in with an RBI single in the top of the first, but Lincoln (1-36, 0-27 MIAA) answered in the bottom of the second when Zach Anderson hit a solo homerun. The game remained tied until the top of the fourth, when the Bronchos brought in four runs on five hits and a pair of Lincoln errors for a 5-1 lead.

In the bottom of that inning, Kaleb Davis and Jackson Walker led the inning off with base hits. Davis ultimately scored on a balk while a double by Nick Lovell brought in Jackson Walker to cut the UCO advantage down to 5-3. The Bronchos regained a three-run lead in the next frame, however, as UCO led the fifth inning off with a solo homerun.

The Blue Tigers came back to cut the deficit down to one in the bottom of the fifth, as Price and Daniel Castillo hit back-to-back homeruns. The LU defense then stranded UCO base runners in each of the next two frames, allowing Price to give Lincoln the lead with his two-run shot in the seventh.

Lincoln finished with 11 hits on the day, including two each by Price, Million and Lovell. Kolton Clark pitched the first 4.1 innings and struck out two batters. Cameron Massman then finished out the game on the mound and allowed just two earned runs while striking out three.

Defensively, Davis led LU with seven putouts. Jackson Walker was next with five and Million tallied four, including a leaping centerfield catch that robbed UCO of a homerun. Anderson, Lovell and Dillon Walker each turned two assists.

The Blue Tigers and the Bronchos will close out their season series at LU Baseball Field on Sunday (April 17) with a 12:00 p.m. CDT contest.