Pitching with Swagger
Apr 14, 2025 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Lincoln Sheffield had never felt like this on the mound. Well, there was that one time that he pitched a combined no-hitter in high school, and that was a great feeling too, but here he was, the 21-year-old junior lefty, absolutely dealing against UCF and one of the top 10 offenses in the country, with a newly-enhanced fastball that enhanced the rest of his pitches, and well, he was confident, and he was delivering a gem Sunday for Kansas State.
"We got a phenomenal start from Lincoln Sheffield," K-State head coach Pete Hughes says. "We all fed off Lincoln's start. That's the storyline from today's game, for sure."
Not bad for a guy who almost quit baseball.
Sheffield, a native of Flowood, Mississippi, was named 2021 MAIS Conference Player of the Year at Hartfield Academy, and he was all-but assured of a scholarship to play baseball at Mississippi State. Then one day they called and told him that they no longer needed him. Sheffield was devastated. He nearly gave up on his dream. Then he gave it a shot at Hinds Community College, located about 30 minutes from his parents' home.
"I didn't really know what to expect," he says.
He assuredly couldn't have expected to meet K-State pitching coach Rudy Darrow. Darrow was in Mississippi sizing up a community college pitcher, but not Sheffield. But once Darrow saw Sheffield's stuff on the mound, he was sold.
"We started talking," Sheffield says. "I had no idea who Kansas State was until I came up here on a visit."
Now, here he is, and less than a year since he moved to the Little Apple, he is serving up big contributions for the Wildcats, 23-12 overall and 10-5 in the Big 12, and perhaps his biggest performance yet arrived amid clear skies and 80-degree temperatures at a sold-out Tointon Family Stadium.
K-State shook off a 15-3 shellacking to UCF on Friday and earned a 3-1 victory on Saturday. Sheffield, the Wildcats' Sunday starter, entered with a 4-3 record in eight starts with a 5.23 ERA in 41.1 innings pitched.
Hughes prior to the game said, "He's been a rock for us."
And Sheffield was ready to roll.
The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Sheffield, who allowed four earned runs at Oklahoma State a week ago, went nuts against a UCF squad that entered the weekend batting .325 and had six players hitting above .300.
A quick summary of what Sheffield and the K-State defense did against UCF:
Three up and three down in the first inning.
Three up and three down in the second inning.
Three up and three down in the third inning.
Three up and three down in the fourth inning.
Three up and three down in the fifth inning.
UCF began the day batting 0-for-17 against Sheffield.
"It was one of those games where it felt like everything was going your way, and I knew I could trust everybody on the field to make a play," Sheffield says. "That's what made the difference."
Here's what Hughes was thinking: "I'm thinking no hitter, 10-run rule after seven. I'd never express that in the dugout because that's a major no-no, but in my head, I'm coaching that game to get the 10-run rule after seven so Lincoln can get a perfect game."
Hughes had seen this before. He saw it out of 2021 first-round draft pick Jordan Wicks, who was a fiery pitcher during his time with the Wildcats. Hughes prior to the season believed that Sheffield would be one to watch. He liked Sheffield's demeanor and his grit.
Hughes discussed Sheffield and Wicks again on Sunday.
"They got the swagger out there," Hughes says. "Lincoln has it. The pitchability is great. They love the big moment. They can't wait to pitch once a week. They soak it all in and they just really love to compete. Another comparison about those guys is the team feeds off them. We're already better offensively and defensively when Joran Wicks is pitching and when Lincoln Sheffield is on the mound that day.
"He's got it. That's for sure."
In the sixth inning, freshman centerfielder Donte Lewis preserved the hitless streak by darting across the field to make a grab against swirling wind for the second out of the inning.
That was followed by a SportsCenter Top 10 play when UCF catcher Andrew Sundean hit a fly ball to centerfield. Lewis raced back to the warning track and his glove hit the ball off the wall before it ricocheted into the right bare hand of leftfielder Keegan O'Connor, bringing the sellout crowd to its feet and prompting an on-field celebration. Upon review, officials ruled it no catch and a double for Sundean. The sellout crowd booed. Sheffield swung his glove and looked at the ground.
The hitless streak ended in crazy fashion.
"I wasn't really thinking about the no-hitter perfect game up to that point," Sheffield says, "then when that play happened, at that point, I was like, 'All right, forget all the stats. Let's go win a ballgame.'"
After the seventh inning, Sheffield's day was finished. He was nails. He was perfect through 5 2/3 innings. He retired his first 17 batters. Then a double. Then a walk. He gave up a solo home run in the seventh. He allowed only two hits in the ballgame. He threw 79 pitches, including 56 strikes. He had five strikeouts and one walk.
It tied his longest outing of the season. He pitched seven innings in a win against TCU on February 23 and he went seven innings in a win against Utah on March 16.
"He's really talented," Hughes says, "and he fits right into our system because he's a team-first guy."
After wondering at one point if the opportunity to play for a high-major college baseball team would ever arrive, Sheffield has found a home on the mound for K-State on Sundays.
He's an integral part to a squad that continues to battle in the ultra-competitive Big 12 Conference.
K-State fought off UCF 8-6 on Sunday. After Sheffield hit the dugout, craziness ensued before James Guyette struck out right fielder DeAmez Ross to end the game.
"There's a bunch of potential," Sheffield says. "Every game we're growing and every series we're growing as a team."
Sheffield's exploits continue to grow as well.
But none has proven as significant as his gem on Sunday.
Lincoln Sheffield had never felt like this on the mound. Well, there was that one time that he pitched a combined no-hitter in high school, and that was a great feeling too, but here he was, the 21-year-old junior lefty, absolutely dealing against UCF and one of the top 10 offenses in the country, with a newly-enhanced fastball that enhanced the rest of his pitches, and well, he was confident, and he was delivering a gem Sunday for Kansas State.
"We got a phenomenal start from Lincoln Sheffield," K-State head coach Pete Hughes says. "We all fed off Lincoln's start. That's the storyline from today's game, for sure."
Not bad for a guy who almost quit baseball.
Sheffield, a native of Flowood, Mississippi, was named 2021 MAIS Conference Player of the Year at Hartfield Academy, and he was all-but assured of a scholarship to play baseball at Mississippi State. Then one day they called and told him that they no longer needed him. Sheffield was devastated. He nearly gave up on his dream. Then he gave it a shot at Hinds Community College, located about 30 minutes from his parents' home.
"I didn't really know what to expect," he says.
He assuredly couldn't have expected to meet K-State pitching coach Rudy Darrow. Darrow was in Mississippi sizing up a community college pitcher, but not Sheffield. But once Darrow saw Sheffield's stuff on the mound, he was sold.
"We started talking," Sheffield says. "I had no idea who Kansas State was until I came up here on a visit."
Now, here he is, and less than a year since he moved to the Little Apple, he is serving up big contributions for the Wildcats, 23-12 overall and 10-5 in the Big 12, and perhaps his biggest performance yet arrived amid clear skies and 80-degree temperatures at a sold-out Tointon Family Stadium.
K-State shook off a 15-3 shellacking to UCF on Friday and earned a 3-1 victory on Saturday. Sheffield, the Wildcats' Sunday starter, entered with a 4-3 record in eight starts with a 5.23 ERA in 41.1 innings pitched.
Hughes prior to the game said, "He's been a rock for us."
And Sheffield was ready to roll.
The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Sheffield, who allowed four earned runs at Oklahoma State a week ago, went nuts against a UCF squad that entered the weekend batting .325 and had six players hitting above .300.
A quick summary of what Sheffield and the K-State defense did against UCF:
Three up and three down in the first inning.
Three up and three down in the second inning.
Three up and three down in the third inning.
Three up and three down in the fourth inning.
Three up and three down in the fifth inning.
UCF began the day batting 0-for-17 against Sheffield.
"It was one of those games where it felt like everything was going your way, and I knew I could trust everybody on the field to make a play," Sheffield says. "That's what made the difference."
Here's what Hughes was thinking: "I'm thinking no hitter, 10-run rule after seven. I'd never express that in the dugout because that's a major no-no, but in my head, I'm coaching that game to get the 10-run rule after seven so Lincoln can get a perfect game."
Hughes had seen this before. He saw it out of 2021 first-round draft pick Jordan Wicks, who was a fiery pitcher during his time with the Wildcats. Hughes prior to the season believed that Sheffield would be one to watch. He liked Sheffield's demeanor and his grit.
Hughes discussed Sheffield and Wicks again on Sunday.
"They got the swagger out there," Hughes says. "Lincoln has it. The pitchability is great. They love the big moment. They can't wait to pitch once a week. They soak it all in and they just really love to compete. Another comparison about those guys is the team feeds off them. We're already better offensively and defensively when Joran Wicks is pitching and when Lincoln Sheffield is on the mound that day.
"He's got it. That's for sure."
In the sixth inning, freshman centerfielder Donte Lewis preserved the hitless streak by darting across the field to make a grab against swirling wind for the second out of the inning.
That was followed by a SportsCenter Top 10 play when UCF catcher Andrew Sundean hit a fly ball to centerfield. Lewis raced back to the warning track and his glove hit the ball off the wall before it ricocheted into the right bare hand of leftfielder Keegan O'Connor, bringing the sellout crowd to its feet and prompting an on-field celebration. Upon review, officials ruled it no catch and a double for Sundean. The sellout crowd booed. Sheffield swung his glove and looked at the ground.
The hitless streak ended in crazy fashion.
"I wasn't really thinking about the no-hitter perfect game up to that point," Sheffield says, "then when that play happened, at that point, I was like, 'All right, forget all the stats. Let's go win a ballgame.'"
After the seventh inning, Sheffield's day was finished. He was nails. He was perfect through 5 2/3 innings. He retired his first 17 batters. Then a double. Then a walk. He gave up a solo home run in the seventh. He allowed only two hits in the ballgame. He threw 79 pitches, including 56 strikes. He had five strikeouts and one walk.
It tied his longest outing of the season. He pitched seven innings in a win against TCU on February 23 and he went seven innings in a win against Utah on March 16.
"He's really talented," Hughes says, "and he fits right into our system because he's a team-first guy."
After wondering at one point if the opportunity to play for a high-major college baseball team would ever arrive, Sheffield has found a home on the mound for K-State on Sundays.
He's an integral part to a squad that continues to battle in the ultra-competitive Big 12 Conference.
K-State fought off UCF 8-6 on Sunday. After Sheffield hit the dugout, craziness ensued before James Guyette struck out right fielder DeAmez Ross to end the game.
"There's a bunch of potential," Sheffield says. "Every game we're growing and every series we're growing as a team."
Sheffield's exploits continue to grow as well.
But none has proven as significant as his gem on Sunday.
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
UTL
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballK-State Baseball | Postgame Highlights vs Columbia Game 2
Saturday, February 28
K-State Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference at Colorado
Thursday, February 26
K-State Rowing | Media Day
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Rowing | Weights Practice
Tuesday, February 24
