Cuevas comes through as Lincoln walks off Bear River in extras

Diego Cuevas was asked to do the little things first. With the score tied in the bottom of the eighth inning Thursday and the winning run on second base, Lincoln's senior catcher squared to bunt, trying to move the runner over and put pressure on Bear River's defense. The ball rolled just a few inches foul. Instead of dwelling on the miss, Cuevas stepped back in, stayed with the same approach and delivered the biggest swing of the night, lacing a walk-off RBI double into the left-center gap to give Lincoln an 8-7 Pioneer Valley League win in eight innings. For Cuevas, who entered the game 2 for his last 10, the moment was personal and another example of what this year's Zebras group has become. "I thought the bunt was nasty. I thought it was going to be down," Cuevas said. "Coach was looking to the right side and it leaked in, and I just took it right to the left-field gap. That was fun." The win pushed Lincoln's momentum even further after its El Camino Spring Break Tournament championship earlier this week, and coach Mike Allen said the confidence from that run showed up again when the game tightened late. "I'd say a little experience of winning lately, right?" Allen said. "Things are starting to come together. Guys are trusting their approach in the box, pitchers are throwing more and more strikes and trusting the defense. Even in those last two innings, we had a couple of seeing-eye hits, and what do you do with that? If it's hit to us, we make the play. I couldn't ask for any more from Wiley there. The guys just kept trusting what we do." That poise mattered after Bear River nearly stole the game. Lincoln built a 7-3 lead, but the Bruins answered with six runs in the sixth and seventh innings, tying the score and briefly shifting all the momentum to the visitors' dugout. Still, the Zebras never panicked. Despite a pitching staff stretched thin after six games in five days, Lincoln pieced together outs from Torre Ridgway, Jaxon Storm, Wiley McDougal and freshman Daxton Sampang, who closed the top of the eighth before Cuevas ended it. Allen said the "bulldog" mentality of the pitching staff displayed Thursday has become central to this team's makeup. "We're asking little things. Keep the game small," Allen said. "If a guy gets a hit, so what? Get back up there and do it again. Three- to five-pitch at-bats is our target, and we're trying to just flush the next one. If something doesn't go our way, give me the ball and let me do it again. The guys are doing that right now, and it's really resonated with the whole staff." That same identity has shown up offensively. Unlike last year's Lincoln team that leaned heavily on power arms and middle-of-the-order thump, this version has become far more versatile. The Zebras stole seven bases, pressured Bear River all night and got contributions throughout the order. Cuevas said that versatility is what makes the group dangerous. "Last year, we had the arms that carried us a lot," Cuevas said. "With this team, we have to scrap around. We're gonna be a really scrappy team. We're gonna have to win ballgames like this. Everyone can do everything, everyone can pitch, everyone can hit, and we're just ballplayers." Despite the late dramatics, Lincoln's biggest statement may have come much earlier against one of the top arms it will see all season. The Zebras forced Cal Poly-bound Bear River ace Kaden Nicholls out after 3⅓ innings, tagging him for four runs and four hits while drawing three walks. Cuevas, Dylan Knell and Brock Galer each collected two hits, while Cuevas and Garrett Ernst drove in two runs apiece. Sampang added an RBI single and two stolen bases as part of Lincoln's seven-steal night. Allen said getting Nicholls out early was a major turning point. "Being able to knock out their ace in the first couple innings of this game, that was huge for us," Allen said. "We kept the game small, won pitch by pitch and inning by inning, and the guys stayed with it." Bear River, meanwhile, left encouraged by the comeback but frustrated by another missed opportunity. Coach Russell Brackett didn't sugarcoat the Bruins' recent stretch after their third straight loss. "We waited until the sixth inning to play baseball today, and that's what got us," Brackett said. "Bottom line, we've got to point the finger at ourselves and be accountable. The first 10 games of the season, this team was unstoppable. Something's thrown us offline, and we've got to figure out a way to get back." Bear River committed three errors that led to multiple Lincoln runs and had costly mishaps on the basepaths, including the potential go-ahead run being thrown out at home to end the top of the seventh. On the mound, Ryder Eason delivered a gritty relief effort after Nicholls exited, helping stabilize the middle innings and giving Bear River a chance to force extras before Cuevas' walk-off. "He did a fantastic job. He's a bulldog. You put him on the mound, he's going to find a way to throw strikes and get outs, and he did exactly what we asked him to do," Brackett said of Eason. "We made an error there in the eighth, and that's the only reason they ended up getting that run in." The Bruins showed life late, scoring six runs in the sixth and seventh with timely hitting. Grayson Hudson delivered a pinch-hit RBI single, helping force extras. Brackett said the decision to trust the freshman in that moment reflected the confidence he still has in his roster. "I have nothing but confidence in all my guys," Brackett said. "The key is we've got to find confidence in ourselves. It doesn't matter if I believe in you if you don't believe in yourself." Now the PVL foes head to Lake of the Pines on Friday for the rematch, with Lincoln carrying the edge and an opportunity to sweep the two-game series and increase its buffer atop the league standings.