NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb baseball team beat the Austin Peay State Governors 5-3 Wednesday afternoon at Dugan Field.
Six hits in the first three innings carried the Bisons to a victory despite a slow finish offensively.
Graduate pitcher Jared Shemper endured an up-and-down first inning, giving up three walks and an unearned run but using two strikeouts to escape with one run.
Sophomore Chandler Giles replaced Shemper in the second inning and earned the win, going 1-0 on the season.
Giles got the Bisons out of the second after Shemper gave up his second run of the day.
In the bottom of the second, Lipscomb got on the board with a solo home run from senior infielder Malik Williams.
The Toronto, Canada native put the Bisons within one on his third homer of the year, but his was the only hit of the inning, leaving the score at 2-1 in favor of the visitors.
Giles continued his solid play at the mound with Lipscomb’s first run-free frame on defense. Despite second and third being reached by APSU runners, the right-handed pitcher kept the Governors off the scoreboard.
That opened the door for a four-run bottom of the third for the Bisons. Austin Haymaker, Caleb Ketchup, Trace Willhoite, and Willhoite all scored in a five-hit inning.
From there, Lipscomb stayed off the scoresheet, using resolute defense to hold onto the lead.
The outfit from Clarksville did pull one run back in the fifth, but that was the last of the scoring on the afternoon.
Logan Van Treeck, Hayden Frank, Will Newell, Gavin Grubbs, Tyler Legere, Connor Witzke, and Trey Nordmann all pitched in the final five innings for Lipscomb. Nordmann, a sophomore from Lansing, Michigan, earned the save.
With the win, Lipscomb gets their second win in two days against Austin Peay after beating the Governors 10-6 in Clarksville Tuesday.
They bring their 9-4 record to Athens, Georgia, Friday when they face the Georgia Bulldogs for a weekend series.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics