by Erin Franklin | May 27, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
It took the North Florida Ospreys 10 innings to beat Lipscomb’s Bisons, 1-0, Friday morning at Ken Dugan Field at Stephen L. Marsh Stadium. Originally scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, rain delays throughout the tournament forced the No. 4 Lipscomb vs. No. 2 North Florida game to be moved to 9 a.m. on Friday. Sophomore pitcher Jeffrey Passantino took the mound to begin the game for the Bisons. He pitched 9.2 innings and threw threw 84 strikes, allowed one walk, six hits and zero runs. The Osprey’s freshman pitcher Austin Drury held his own, though. After pitching eight innings, Drury exited the field, having struck out eight and allowing two hits. In the top of the fourth, Lipscomb freshman Zeke Dodson had the Bison’s first hit of the day, singling to left field. He was left on first, though, as the Bisons couldn’t bring him home. In the top of the ninth, Lee Solomon singled for the Bison’s second hit of the game. This was the last of the two hits Drury allowed. After Drury, North Florida brought in Corbin Olmstead, Daniel Moritz and Matthew Naylor to pitch, with Naylor ending up getting the win for the Ospreys. Lipscomb’s Passantino handed the ball over to senior pitcher Cody Glenn in the bottom of the 10th inning. In the tenth inning, North Florida’s Dakota Higdon hit a walk-off triple to right-center, driving in Bubba Olivera as the needed run to make the final score 1-0. This ended Lipscomb’s five-game win streak and continued North Florida’s eight-game win streak. Last year’s final in the ASUN Championship was between Lipscomb and North Florida,...
by Erin Franklin | May 26, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
Despite a nearly two-hour rain delay, the Lipscomb Bisons stormed ahead, battling the Jacksonville Dolphins for a win at Ken Dugan Field on Wednesday night. Originally scheduled for 7 p.m., the game didn’t get started until 8:50 p.m., due to the downpour that began before the game was about to start. Once the game began though, the Bisons stayed mentally focused, refusing to let the delay get to them. Sophomore starting pitcher Brady Puckett said that it can be difficult not getting distracted by a rain delay, but it’s something he’s learned to overcome. “It’s kind of tough, but that’s just part of it,” Puckett said. He added, “It happened last week too, so you just get used to it.” Puckett pitched a great seven innings, striking out eight, walking none and allowing four runs. The Bisons not only had a good defensive game, but they also swung the bat well to bring home a win in the early hours of Thursday morning at about 12 a.m. “Any win is a good win. We swung the bat pretty good…Tevin had two homers; Hunter had a homer. We hit the ball really, really well, to go along with Brady pitching so well,” Coach Jeff Forehand said. Redshirt freshman Tevin Symonette hit two bombs, the latter a two-run homer. Junior Hunter Hanks also hit a two-run homer in the second inning, making the score 3-0. Sophomore Lee Solomon had four solid hits as well, one of those being a double that nearly went out, bouncing off the wall and driving in one run. The Jacksonville Dolphins were not about to give up that easily, though. Jacksonville...
by Erin Franklin | May 26, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The college track and field season has started to wind down, but five Lipscomb athletes are just getting started. Seniors Gemikal Prude and Madi Talbert, juniors Barbara Lee Ball and Sally Larson and sophomore Wayne Newman are at North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., for the NCAA Division I East Region Preliminaries. The competition begins Thursday afternoon and finishes Saturday. Ball and Larson will be running in the 10,000 meter race at 8 p.m. Thursday. Ball, who recently made the All-Academic Team, is making her first appearance at the East Preliminaries. It is Larson’s second time, although she competed in the 5,000m last season. At 7:50 p.m. Friday, Talbert will be competing in the 3,000m steeplechase, her fourth consecutive appearance in that event. She’s also making her second straight appearance in the 5,000m, which begins at 7:05 p.m. Saturday. Newman, who was also selected to the All-Academic Team, will be competing in two events, the 400m hurdles at 4 p.m. Thursday and the 110m hurdle at 4:30 p.m. Friday. This is his second year advancing in the 110m hurdle, and he holds the school record in both those events. Prude is taking on the high jump competition at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. This is his third consecutive appearance in the event at the East Preliminaries. Because of successfully making it to the preliminaries, the track and field season has been going on for months for these five athletes, but Prude said despite feeling physically taxed at times, he and the rest of the Bisons are ready. “The track season is a long one,” he said. “It can be very demanding, and of course you’ll deal with...
by Erin Franklin | May 24, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
Coming off of a great performance against Stetson this past weekend, the Lipscomb baseball team hopes to keep the momentum going as it hosts the Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Championship tournament this week at Ken Dugan Field. No. 4 Lipscomb will battle it out at Dugan Field for its opening game against No. 3 Jacksonville at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Coach Jeff Forehand said he is looking forward to having the home-field advantage. “It’s good anytime we get to play at home,” he said. “We’d hosted it here a few years ago, but we didn’t qualify for that tournament.” This past weekend, Lipscomb had one of its best series’ performances, as the Bisons swept all three games against Stetson. Forehand said the team is “looking good,” and they’re hoping to continue their winning streak. “It’s always nice to end the season on a good note like we did [at Stetson], and everyone is healthy,” Forehand said. “Anytime you’re winning some games right after the other it’s great. We plan on using those wins against Stetson to our advantage.” One of the players who will be key in bringing home a win against Jacksonville is sophomore Lee Solomon. Solomon recently won the Atlantic Sun Baseball Player of the Week for his first time. Solomon is the team leader in multi-hit games with 21 this season. In addition to Solomon, Forehand said there are several players to keep an eye on in the upcoming games. “You can keep an eye on Adam Lee; he’s a senior. Lee Solomon has been playing really well, and Michael Gigliotti has been playing really well, too.” Lee was key...
by Erin Franklin | May 22, 2016 | News Slider
Several hundred excited athletes gathered Friday and Saturday at Lipscomb for competition, dancing and fun during the 2016 Special Olympics State Summer Games. There were six different categories of competition: aquatics, track and field, bocce, powerlifting, tennis and volleyball. The aquatics events were held at Ensworth School. Over 2,500 athletes, coaches, volunteers and family members attended the competition. The Special Olympics State Summer Games also were held at Lipscomb in 2015. In the past, Lipscomb has consistently hosted the state Special Olympics basketball tournament. Williamson County Special Olympics bocce adult-leader Brenda Hauk said her team “did very good” and walked away with several medals. “Our guys won first place, our gals won fourth, and everybody walked away with a medal. We played singles and doubles, and they did really good!” Hauk said she is grateful for the experience Lipscomb provides by opening the doors for the state games to be held on campus. “Lipscomb has been so nice to us, and it has just been wonderful,” Hauk said. Although Williamson County Olympians did not stay on campus for the competition, Lipscomb opened up the dormitories for competitors who had to travel long distances to participate in the state games. The Special Olympics program holds over 100 competitions annually for men and women with intellectual disabilities. Once every four years, the Special Olympians have the opportunity to compete at the U.S. Games and the World Games. The Special Olympics program also offers the unique opportunity of unified sports, such as the unified volleyball competition held at the State Summer Games this year. Unified sports allow people with and without intellectual disabilities to team...
