Potters hold on to final playoff spot entering season's last week

The Lincoln Potters picked up a crucial win over the Walnut Creek Crawdads on Saturday night to move into second place in the California Collegiate League North Division and hang on to the final playoff spot moving into the last week of the season. The Crawdads had their ace on the mound but Lincoln jumped on him early, putting four runs across the plate in the first two innings. Walnut Creek got on the board in the fifth but the Potters responded with three runs of its own to bring the lead up to 7-1. The Crawdads were unable to overcome the deficit, as the Potters took the game 9-4. After the game, Potter manager Ryan Stevens gave his thoughts on his team's aggressive approach at the plate. "I think they're just trying to hit the ball hard, square things up and are not trying to do too much at the plate and it worked out for them," said Stevens. "I mean, they had really good at bats today. I was just praising them in the huddle there about how good their bats were and how they're grinding things out and staying short and to the baseball." The Potters had little time to enjoy the win however, as it was scheduled for a doubleheader Sunday at the Solano Mudcats, another team in the thick of the California Collegiate League playoff race. Game one was not kind to the Potters, who only racked up two hits in a 4-0 loss. Jared Breedwell and Cole Tremain were the two that got into the hit column, with Breedwell hitting a double. Game two was a much better performance for Lincoln, as it defeated Solano 6-2 to split the afternoon. The Potters wasted no time getting on the board, as they scored one in the first and two in the second for an early 3-0 lead. Lincoln cushioned its lead up to six before Solano added two in the seventh but it was too little, too late for the Mudcats as they fell to the Potters. Toran O'Harran was dominant on the mound Sunday afternoon, tossing six hitless innings for the Potters and earning the win. The Stanford-bound pitcher struck out eight and walked just one batter in his best performance of the summer. The Potters currently have a one-game lead over the Walnut Creek Crawdads and a one-and-a-half game lead over the Mudcats for the final playoff spot entering the season's final week. Lincoln has a tough test Tuesday against the first-place Healdsburg Prune Packers at home. The Potters have one game left against the Crawdads and two against the Mudcats in the final seven games.