JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Hawks picked up a pair of much-needed wins on the road against the Blue Tigers of Lincoln University on Thursday (Apr. 17). With storms ahead this weekend, the two teams agreed to play a doubleheader Thursday and Friday. Quincy picked up two wins behind great pitching and offense, winning game one 8-2 and game two 15-3.

GAME ONE

The Hawks jumped on the board first, capitalizing off of a Blue Tiger error to make it 1-0 before Lincoln could get to the bat rack. Quincy doubled its lead with a sacrifice fly from David Broughton in the third inning. 

Hawks starter Kobe Essien put up three straight zeroes before giving up back-to-back solo shots to the Blue Tigers offense to knot things up at two apiece after four innings of play. But the Hawks regained the lead in the top half of the fifth with a solo shot of their own coming from Matt Mateo.

Essien continued to lock things down despite giving up the two home runs as he cruised through the next three innings, holding a 3-2 lead in favor of the Hawks. Quincy was looking for insurance heading into the top of the eighth, and that is exactly what Quincy got, putting up a four-spot to give the Hawks a 7-2 lead after eight innings.

QU added another run in the top of the ninth for good measure, but it was not needed, as Essien continued to dominate the Blue Tigers lineup. Kobe, who just earned GLVC pitcher of the week after seven scoreless frames against the Flyers, possibly put himself in the running once again, as he completed the game with a season-high ten punchouts through nine innings of work to secure a game-one victory. 

GAME TWO

Game two started the same way as game one, as Quincy snagged a lead before Lincoln had a chance to swing, putting up two runs in the opening frame, capped off by an RBI single from Broughton. The QU lead was extended to three in the second inning after Mateo brought home John Nisbet with a sacrifice fly.

For the third straight inning, the Hawks extended their lead, this time with a big fly. A two-run homer from Joe Huffman extended the lead to 5-0. Hawks game two starter Kyle Manship picked up where Essien left off, holding the Blue Tigers offense scoreless through three frames.

With the Hawks leading 5-0, the game was blown open in the top of the fourth after a four spot was put up by the Hawks to make it 9-0. The big swing came from Broughton, driving in three with a home run of his own. The Blue Tigers finally got to Manship and chipped into the deficit with a two-run home run in the home half. 

Quincy continued to pour on the runs in the fifth inning, tacking on two more to surpass double digits. Lincoln added one of their own off Manship, but those were the only three runs they would get off the Hawks starter, as Manship finished five innings, setting himself up for the victory.

Another four spot for Quincy in the top of the sixth inning gave them a commanding 15-3 lead. Quinn Schultz got a piece of the action by hitting the Hawks's third home run of the game. Josh Hempelman was the first Hawk out of the bullpen, and he held the Blue Tiger offense scoreless in the home half of the sixth.

For the first time all game, the Hawks were held scoreless in the top of the seventh inning, and it was up to Alex Pickus to lock down a doubleheader sweep for the Hawks. The lefty made quick work of Lincoln in the home half, sending them down in order to wrap up a game-two victory for the Hawks.

Quincy will be back in action tomorrow afternoon with another doubleheader to wrap up the series against Lincoln. The first pitch from Jefferson City is expected to be thrown at 12:00 PM CDT.