The year has gotten off to a rocky start for the Lincoln University baseball team.
The Blue Tigers got outscored 34-12 while dropping all three games of a season-opening series with Northwestern Oklahoma State over the weekend.
The last of the three losses came Sunday, as the Blue Tigers dropped an 11-5 decision while committing four errors in the nine-inning contest.
The Rangers (6-1) scored single runs in the first and fourth innings before getting three in the fifth to go up 5-0.
Lincoln got a run in the top of the sixth when Caleb Kemna singled in Logan Smith, but gave up three in the bottom of the frame to fall behind 8-1.
The Blue Tigers got two in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Clint Cashen that scored Andrew St. Pierre and a wild pitch that plated Ben Stewart, but then gave up another three-spot in the bottom of the inning.
Lincoln got the game's final two runs in the eighth on RBI singles by Stewart and Cashen.
Cashen had three hits and two RBI to pace the offense, while Stewart had three hits and one RBI. No other Blue Tiger had multiple hits in a 10-hit attack.
Cameron Moss started and took the loss for the Blue Tigers, giving up eight runs (four earned) on 10 hits in 52â„3 innings. He struck out two and walked three.
The Blue Tigers opened the season Saturday by dropping both halves of a doubleheader.
Lincoln dropped the opener 15-5 in a game shortened to seven innings because of the run rule, as the Blue Tigers had five more errors.
The Blue Tigers fell behind 11-0 after just two innings because of a three-run first and eight-run second for the Rangers.
Lincoln started to show signs of life in the third, pushing across four runs. Josh Kennedy's two-run home run was the big blow in the frame, while St. Pierre and Colby Shepherd added RBI singles.
Northwestern Oklahoma State then scored single runs in the third, fifth and sixth to go ahead 14-4. Each team scored a run in the seventh, Lincoln's coming when Blake Jones walked with the bases loaded.
Kennedy had one hit and two RBI, while St. Pierre and Shepherd had one hit and one RBI each.
Jones took the loss after working the first three innings. He allowed 12 runs, but just one of them was earned thanks to the Blue Tigers' shoddy defense. He gave up six hits while walking four and striking out three.
In the regularly scheduled seven-inning second game, Northwestern Oklahoma State claimed an 8-2 win.
Lincoln got its only lead of the series by scoring in the top of the first when Zach Roberts scored on a passed ball.
The Rangers knotted it in the bottom of the first with one run, then added one in the second, one in the fourth, three in the fifth and two in the sixth to go ahead 8-1.
Lincoln's final run came in the top of the seventh when Cashen scored on a fielder's choice by Smith.
Shepherd had two of Lincoln's six hits in the contest.
John Bisges was the starter and loser, as he gave up six earned runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out two in 41â„3 innings on the mound.
The Blue Tigers return to action with a weekend series at Nebraska-Kearney, playing a doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday.