By DON BENEVENTO
Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN

Lincoln Mikkelsen came, he saw, and he conquered.

Making his first start of the season for the Riversharks, Mikkelsen threw a tidy three-hitter over eight innings that enabled his team to break a five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Long Island Ducks on Monday before 3,394 spectators at Campbell's Field.

The right-hander struck out six along the way, and he walked only one. He was in trouble only in the fifth inning when the Ducks scored their only run.

All in all, it was an impressive performance for the 31- year-old who, until Friday, had been selling insurance and pitching in semipro games at his home in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Despite his performance, Mikkelsen seemed to go out of the way to downplay his effort.

``I guess things went OK,'' he said. ``I didn't feel like I had real good stuff, and I missed my spots a lot, but I guess it went all right.''

But if Mikkelsen pitched as poorly as his own evaluation, you have to wonder what would happen if he were really sharp.

Against the Ducks, he actually was perfect through the first four innings before giving up a walk and two singles in the fifth. The Ducks got their only run on a ground-ball out by Ryan Gorecki with the bases loaded.

It is interesting to note that Mikkelsen probably would not have gotten his chance to pitch with the Sharks, had it not been for his acquaintance with Sharks outfielder Brad Strauss.

The two became friends while playing together in Taiwan, and it was Strauss who convinced the Sharks management team that Mikkelsen would be worth a look.

``I think Brad recommended me and they called to see if I was interested in coming out,'' he said. ``I was selling insurance and I hated that. I asked my wife what she thought and she said go.''

He also had some link with Sharks manager Wayne Krenchicki, since they were both in the Milwaukee Brewers' organization in the 1990s.

``I hadn't seen him pitch since then, but he looked pretty good tonight.'' Krenchicki said. ``He threw from a lot of different angles. He changed speeds well. I guess this shows when you know how to pitch you can pitch against anybody.''

Aside from the Brewers, Mikkelsen also pitched in the minor league organizations of the Montreal Expos and Colorado Rockies. In 1995, he was leading the Eastern League in earned run average at midseason before he was struck with an injury.

He certainly did all he could to keep the Sharks in the game on Monday before his team rallied for the win.