The Lincoln University baseball team opened their three-game East Coast Conference series with a 19-6 loss to Mercy Friday at the LU Baseball Complex.
 

Sophomores Jefry Azcona (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic) and Josh Shepherd (Bowie, Md./Bowie) each had a pair of hits as Lincoln finished with nine hits.
 

Mercy scored runs in seven of the nine innings to record the victory.
 

Lincoln scored its first run with some two-out magic in the third inning. Shepherd started the rally with LU's first hit of the season, a single to right center. Azcona reached a slow roller and Shepherd moved to third on the fielding error. Shepherd then scored on a double by Damaal Sands (Nassau, Bahamas/Montverde Academy (FL)).
 

Freshman Wesley Hogan (Washington, D.C./Maret) opened the fourth with his third homer of the season, a towering shot down the left-field line.
 

Lincoln capped its scoring with four runs in the seventh inning. Senior CarVonte Williams (Cleveland, Ohio/Twinsburg) opened the inning with a single, and he moved to second on a throwing error. Two outs later, junior DeAndre Bowens (Rock Hill, N.Y./Monticello) walked and Williams advanced to third on a wild pitch.
 

Shepherd singled home Bowens, and then Azcona drilled a double to center to score two more runs.
 

Sophomore Luis Miguel Reinoso (Beltsville, Md./High Point), 0-8, allowed five runs – three earned – on five hits in two innings. Reliever Sean Wright (Bowie, Md./Bowie) hurled a career-high three innings, matching his season total. He allowed just one earned run – four total – on five hits with two strikeouts. Hogan struck out a team-high three batters in 1 2/3 hitless innings.
 

The two teams will conclude the series with a doubleheader Saturday. The nine-inning game begins at noon, followed by a seven-inning contest.