by Charlie Bateman | Apr 7, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb softball took the doubleheader 3-2 and 13-1 from the Memphis Tigers at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium Tuesday afternoon. The Lady Bisons came out dressed in pink jerseys to raise awareness for breast cancer. In the first game, Memphis got a two-run homer by catcher Haley Ross in the top of the second. Lipscomb tied it up in the bottom of the fourth, with two runs scored on a bases-loaded single by freshman Caitlin Plocheck. Plocheck broke the tie in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run. “Plocheck is a very talented hitter,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “The quality of her at-bats seem to get better and better.” Lipscomb continued its clutch hitting in the second game, with a final score of 13-1. The Lady Bisons scored a season high 12 runs in the bottom of the second. The major hit of the inning was a grand slam by junior Baylee Williams. “She has an effortless swing,” Ryman said. “It doesn’t always look explosive, but she has good hands.” Senior Brianne Welch had the other big hit in the inning, with a two-run homer that actually bounced off the scoreboard. “Brianne has as much raw power as anyone on the team,” Ryman said. “When she gets a hold of one, it is going to go out of the ballpark.” The Memphis Tigers played Lipscomb close in the first game, but could not solve junior Tanner Sanders’ pitching in the second game. Sanders not only got her first save in the first game, but she also pitched a complete second game. The Tigers scored its only run...
by Charlie Bateman | Mar 31, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
Mississippi State took down Lipscomb in a 1-0 win Tuesday afternoon at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. Lipscomb and Mississippi State were tied at zero until the fifth inning. It was not until the Bulldogs’ designated player Mackenzie Toler got a run-scoring single in the top of the fifth to make the only run in the competition. Junior pitcher Tanner Stevens gave up one run and had nine strikeouts on the game. “Tanner was really attacking the zone,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “She did a tremendous job. You can not ask for more than what she gave us today.” Ryman said she hopes that Stevens will continue her excellent pitching by hitting her spots for future starts. Mississippi sent out its number one starter and ace hurler Alexis Silkwood in the circle. Silkwood had four strikeouts and allowed two hits. Ryman was not surprised that Mississippi had its number one starter go against Lipscomb. “She is doing some good things for them,” Ryman said. Freshman Caitlin Plocheck extended her hitting streak to five games. Plocheck had a single in the bottom of the second. “Her last two at-bats were still quality,” Ryman said. “We are starting to see what we knew she was capable of. That is exciting for us as we move into the last half of conference play.” Ryman said she hopes Plocheck and others will become strong hitters as they go through the rest of the season. Lipscomb will travel to Florida for some Atlantic Sun action with Jacksonville this weekend. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
by Charlie Bateman | Mar 25, 2015 | Sports
Thanks to an error from the Belmont catcher in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Bisons won the Battle of the Boulevard 10-9 on Tuesday night at Ken Dugan Field at Stephen L. Marsh Stadium. Sophomore Hunter Hanks scored the winning run for the Bisons after freshman Tyler Brown put the ball into play, forcing Belmont catcher Alec Diamond to hurry his throw. The ball sailed past the first baseman giving Lipscomb the victory. The hit by Brown was his first walk-off of the season. “I was honestly caught in the moment,” Brown said. “It was my first walk-off, and I had a great time. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.” Brown was the designated hitter for the Bisons, but that didn’t cause him to feel any more pressure than normal during hit at-bat. “It is my role on the team this year,” Brown said. “I had to stay calm and do my job.” Belmont jumped on the board first with two runs in the top of the first inning, but Lipscomb answered with three runs. The Bisons scored two runs in the bottom of the third with a big hit from senior Jonathan Allison. Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand called a double steal that brought freshman Michael Gigliotti home from third. Lipscomb scored two more runs after sacrifice flies from Allison and Gigliotti. In the bottom of the seventh, the Bisons scored two runs on a sacrifice bunt from redshirt freshman Allan Hooker and an RBI single from freshman Jeffrey Crisan. Redshirt junior Jaesung Hwang started the game for the Bisons, but after Hwang left the game, the Bisons bullpen blew a seven run lead in the top of...
by Charlie Bateman | Mar 22, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
The Bison baseball team won the series with Xavier over the weekend, but Xavier took the Sunday game 5-1. On Friday night Lipscomb played small ball as senior Jonathon Allison and redshirt freshman Allan Hooker both had run scoring singles in the bottom of the first inning. It was not until the top of the sixth that Xavier center fielder Brian Bruening hit a two run homer for the Musketeers, the only two runs scored by Xavier. Lipscomb scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh, with a RBI single from senior Grant Massey and an insurance run provided by redshirt junior Adam Lee. The Bisons final tally of the game came with a run scoring double from freshman Jeffrey Crisan. The second game of the series, resulted in an 11-1 win for Lipscomb. Xavier started the third inning with a run that ended up being their only score of the game. Lipscomb answered right back, scoring two runs of their own in the bottom of the third. In the bottom of the fourth, Lipscomb had a lead-off homerun by Allison. The Bisons had a big inning in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs, and senior Grant Massey started it with a two-run scoring double. Allison provided a run scoring double, and Hooker provided a RBI triple. Hooker also scored the final run of the inning on a wild pitch. It was not until the bottom of the eighth that Lipscomb again scored three runs on a two run homer from freshman Michael Gigliotti and a run scoring triple from senior Mike Korte. In the final game on Sunday...
by Charlie Bateman | Mar 11, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb softball team improved its record to 9-10 after winning against Southern Illinois 3-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. Lipscomb started slow after having a long break between games. In the first inning, the Bisons had two wild pitches that were a big key to the two runs scored by the Salukis. “After having a long layoff you never really know how your team is going to react,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “We didn’t let the first inning dictate the whole game.” Lipscomb answered back with an RBI as a result of a sacrifice fly by senior Gracey Aguirre. The Bisons tied the game in the bottom of the second with another sacrifice fly by senior Paige Neely. It was not until the bottom of the sixth when junior Baylee Williams broke the tie with a solo home run. “I really want to win for my teammates,” Williams said. “I wasn’t going up there looking for a home run. I was just wanting to get a base hit.” Ryman said it was important to get clutch hits like Bailey’s on a regular basis. “As a team we try to go up to the plate and make something happen,” Ryman said. “I think if we do that consistently we are going to be okay.” Southern Illinois was aggressive in trying to score runs, but could only manage to pick them up in the first inning. The Salukis had an interesting way to deliver signs to batters at the plate. Ryman said Southern Illinois team looked at their wristbands every time they stepped out of the box. “It is a signal,” Ryman...
