Lipscomb softball claims series against Eagles, evens up ASUN record

Lipscomb softball claims series against Eagles, evens up ASUN record

NASHVILLE- The Lipscomb softball team defeated the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles 6-1 on Sunday after splitting the two-game doubleheader against the Eagles on Saturday.  Freshman pitcher Kate Peters pitched for the entire game, earning two strikeouts and only allowing three hits on the day. Despite an Eagles’ home run in the third inning to cut the Bisons’ lead to one run, Peters’ performance did not falter as she did not allow another run in the game and improved her record to 2-0 on the season. The team trusted Peters to finish the game and Peters expressed her gratitude for the team to continue her play. “I think [the team] having confidence in me going out there is a really big thing that helps me get ready,” Peters said. “I always have confidence in myself.” Kamrie Rich, a redshirt junior catcher, had an outstanding performance at the plate, tallying two home runs and four RBIs. Lipscomb took the first lead of the game after Rich’s two-run homer in the first inning. Rich extended her mark to five home runs on the season to lead the Bisons on the year. Hailing from Lexington, Kentucky, Elise Shewmaker converted two RBIs off a double in the third inning when a hit to right field resulted in an error for an Eagles’ outfielder. The Bisons’ double would extend the lead to 4-1. Amy Vetula, a senior from Canton, Georgia, recorded one hit and two runs in the game. A day after suffering a threatening injury, Vetula’s presence was met by cheers from the crowd every time she stepped up to the plate. “I definitely...
Lipscomb softball drops home opener to Northern Iowa

Lipscomb softball drops home opener to Northern Iowa

NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb softball team lost to the Northern Iowa Panthers 4-3 in a close affair Wednesday afternoon at Draper Diamond. Despite falling behind 2-1 after the third inning, the Panthers were able to end a five-game skid by scoring three runs over the next two innings. The Bisons, having returned from the Mardi Gras Mambo Tournament in Youngsville, Louisiana, hosted their first home game this season at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium.  Lipscomb took the lead for the first time in the game after scoring two runs in the third inning. Maci Cunconan, a junior from Warrensburg, Missouri, hit a two-run homer to right field for her first of the year.  Senior Amy Vetula, a native of Canton, Georgia, who singled to left field earlier in the inning, also earned a run on Cunconan’s homer. Vetula would go 2-3 on the day to help the Bisons lead 2-1 after the third. Starting pitcher Laine Barefoot, who came in at 2-2 on the year, earned six strikeouts in five innings pitched. Following Barefoot, closing pitcher Emily Yakubowski allowed zero runs in her two innings pitched. Despite Yakubowski’s defensive success as the contest wore on, the Bisons could only score one more run for the rest of the game. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Vetula hit a double to center field, allowing senior outfielder Jessie Brown to tally an additional run. However, the fourth inning was costly for the Bisons on defense. Daryn Lamprecht and Hailey Sanders, both sophomores for the Panthers, scored unearned runs on a throwing error. At the top of the fifth, the Panthers...
Men’s basketball uses dominant second half to beat Bears, earn first-round home game

Men’s basketball uses dominant second half to beat Bears, earn first-round home game

NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb men’s basketball team beat the Central Arkansas Bears at a score of 81-66 on senior day. The first half exhibited a close affair between two equal teams in the conference standings.  Earlier in the year, the Bears came out on top in a competitive 93-88 win in Conway, Arkansas. Freshman guard Trae Benham shot lights-out in the first half to tally 16 points. Benham shot 6-9 from the field and contributed four of Lipscomb’s five made three-pointers in the half.   Greg Jones, a Frisco, Texas-born guard and one of two seniors honored on Senior Day, had an efficient start to the half, going 2-3 from the field. Jones threw an assist across the court to lead to Benham’s last three of the half to take a 29-27 lead. After a quick Bears run, freshman forward Jacob Ognacevic finished on a second-chance layup after a block from Parker Hazen, a graduate forward from Columbia City, Indiana. With that basket, the Bisons cut the UCA’s lead to two points by half. Beginning in the second half, the Bisons started to pull away. The home side shot 63% from the field and outscored the Bears 50-33 in the half. Junior center Ahsan Asadullah, a two-time All-ASUN First Team player, heated up in the second half as the Bears proved unable to stop him in the paint. Asadullah would also accumulate a game-high 10 rebounds and six assists for the Bisons. Despite Eddy Kayouloud’s 22 points, the Central Arkansas forward was not enough against the Bisons’ quicker play. “We came out and played a complete game in the second...
Baseball uses strong batting, shutout defense to beat Bradley

Baseball uses strong batting, shutout defense to beat Bradley

NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb baseball team defeated the Bradley Braves 14-0 Friday afternoon at Dugan Field in a one-game conference matchup. Pitcher Kaleb Kantola, a native of Monmouth, Oregon, improved to 2-0 on the season as the starting pitcher on the win. In five innings pitched, Kantola earned 10 strikeouts to total 15 strikeouts on the year. Kantola had a perfect game through three innings pitched; however, the Bisons were also able to take advantage of five walked batters in the second inning to score five runs in back-to-back innings.   Senior third baseman Malik Williams had two hits for three at-bats to tally six RBIs. Williams earned two RBIs off a triple and hit his third home run of the season in the fifth inning to stretch Lipscomb’s lead to 14 runs. Maddux Houghton, a senior from Dalton, Georgia, had a game-high three runs on the day and converted on a double in the second inning to continue the lights-out performance by the Bisons early in the game. After Lipscomb’s blazing start in the second and third innings, the Braves could not recover. The Bisons finished with six runs and zero errors on the day. The game ended in the seventh inning with a mutual agreement. Last weekend, Lipscomb won the series 2-1 against the Akron Zips. With the win today, the Bisons improve to 3-1 on the season and will play the Pittsburgh Panthers from the ACC in a two-game series.  The Bisons and Panthers will square off in game one of the series 3 p.m. Saturday at Dugan Field. The game will also be broadcast on the Lipscomb Bisons...
Women’s tennis drops decision to UAB after beating Belmont

Women’s tennis drops decision to UAB after beating Belmont

NASHVILLE–The Lipscomb women’s tennis team lost to the UAB Blazers 5-2 Saturday afternoon in their last competition of the indoor season at Ensworth High School. The Bisons played matches in back-to-back days for the first time this season after defeating in-city rival Belmont 4-3 the day before. Despite senior Maddux Brandy and sophomore Sasha Dobranos’ commanding 6-1 win in the doubles round, the Bisons fell behind 0-1 to start as they were unable to win the other two doubles matches. “We showed some good things [but] we really just blew the doubles point which really changed the trajectory…it was just one of those days where we had to be a little bit tougher,” assistant coach Dwight Dale said. The Bison’s performances in the singles matches did not reflect the final score as there were four tiebreakers that occurred throughout the tight matches.   Dobranos won her first competitive set with a tiebreaker win and finished with a 6-4 win in her second set. Courtside to Dobranos’ match, Kate Popova, hailing from Donetsk, Ukraine, fought valiantly as she faced three tiebreaker sets in a row, winning the match in the final two sets. Beginning in March, the Bisons will play three matches in a span of five days. “Our girls know that we are going to be playing against really good competition,” Dale said, “[but] we’re capable of doing it. It’s just a matter of going out and taking care of business.” Lipscomb’s record sits at 3-4 after the weekend slate and will now play on campus at the Huston-Marsh-Griffith Tennis Center for the remaining scheduled home games. The Bisons will...