JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning helped the Lincoln baseball team beat Hannibal-LaGrange, 8-4, on Tuesday afternoon (March 17).

All four of the Trojans' runs came in the first two innings. A pair of RBI singles opened the scoring in the top of the first, and Hannibal-LaGrange (6-14) added two more runs in the top of the second after taking advantage a pair of errors. In the bottom of the third, however, Lincoln (5-15) cut its deficit in half when Aidan Streight scored on a ground out and Hunter Mitchell reached home on a bases-loaded walk.

Easton Stuckenschneider led the fifth inning off with a single and Mitchell and Felix Marquez both reached base on walks. That set up Blythe Blakey, who hit the ball over the right center field fence for a grand slam that put LU ahead for good. The Blue Tigers added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning, as Streight and Mitchell both scored on fielding errors.

Mitchell went 3-for-4 at the plate and scored three runs to lead the LU offense. Marquez had two hits while Blakey finished with five RBI. 

On the mound, Jonah Claborn got the win after pitching the first five innings. Carter Otto finished the game and struck out three Trojan batters en route to earning his first save of the season. Andy Srebroski IV recorded a team-high six putouts while Nolan Laughlin and Daren Walters-Ansell each contributed three. Walters-Ansell also had a pair of assists.

Lincoln returns to Vivion Field on Wednesday (March 18) to host Harris Stowe in a 1:00 p.m. CDT double-header.