Lincoln Andrews continues his success against Morehead State

Sophomore infielder Lincoln Andrews had a standout series on April 22-23, against Morehead State. He came up big all series and helped fuel the Redhawks to a series sweep at Capaha Park.

Andrews proved to be a tough out all weekend and helped his team power their way through Morehead State. He credits his new approach for his successful series.

“Basically, my whole goal was to get jammed to make sure that I’m not early on any pitch that I saw,” Andrews said. “I really think that helped me focus in and hit both the fastball and the off-speed pitches.”

Andrews' new mindset worked out big time for him as he finished the three-game set with seven hits, which included three home runs and seven runs batted in.

Perhaps the biggest hit Andrews had this weekend came in game two in the bottom of the eighth inning with his team down two. Andrews stepped up to the plate and slugged his second home run of the game to tie the game up, which allowed the Redhawks to ultimately win the contest in extra innings.

Head coach Andy Sawyers praised Andrews for his late-inning heroics, giving him credit for being able to come up clutch in a tough lefty-lefty matchup.

“Their closer is left-handed, and he’s really good,” Sawyers said. “[Bakke] been crushing left-handers, so the fact that [Andrews] was able to hit the home run there in the eighth tied up was a pretty big swing for him, especially considering that guy’s left-handed, and [Bakke] been dominating left-handed hitters.”

The weekend success for Andrews shouldn’t be much of a surprise, as he’s having a breakout year in his second season at SEMO. Andrews’ offensive numbers have all increased by a significant margin from a year ago.

Andrews has already tripled the amount of home runs he hit last season, as he sits with 10 long balls this year alone. On top of that, he has already surpassed his run batted in total, and his slugging percentage is up an impressive 100 points from last year.

Andrews and Sawyers both give the credit to Andres being more comfortable and confident in the batter’s box and feeling more supported by his teammates and coaching staff. Head coach Andy Sawyers said maturation and the natural development of a hitter are also working in Andrews’ favor

“I just think it’s the maturation of him as a hitter,” Sawyers said. “This year, the average is down a bit, but he’s slugging more, hitting more home runs, and he’s driving guys in, so I just think it’s kind of the process of him getting older and better and getting used to college pitching. I don’t think it’s any one thing.”

Andrews’ recent hot streak has caught the attention of his teammates as he continues to help the Redhawks win ball games. Junior pitcher Bryce Grossius said he can tell there is more confidence in Andrews' game.

“You can tell he’s more comfortable up there at the plate, and he’s really starting to settle in, which is helping us out a lot as a team,” Grossius said.

Andrews looks to build off of his impressive series as the Redhawks take on Missouri State at home on Tuesday, May 10th.