by Erin Franklin | May 28, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
No. 4 Lipscomb (31-27) played valiantly in the ASUN Championship, but it suffered a final loss in the double-elimination tournament to No. 5 FGCU (25-31) by a score of 8-6 Friday night at Ken Dugan Field. Coach Jeff Forehand said it was an “abrupt” end to a good season. “When you put so much into it all season and then play such a good game this morning and then battle in this game too, it’s tough to see everything end in one day like this,” Forehand said. In the weekend series against the same Florida Gulf Coast team earlier in the season, the Bisons won one of three. They scored a victory the first game 5-4 but lost the latter two games 19-4 and 7-4. The Bisons started the day off with an extra-innings 1-0 loss against No. 2 North Florida, causing the later game against FGCU to be an elimination game. Redshirt freshman Kyle Kemp started the game for Lipscomb, allowing five hits and four runs, striking out three and walking two in five innings. Forehand brought in senior reliever Kyle Weller after the fifth. The Bisons’ bats may not have been hot in their morning game, when they had just two hits, but they came through with several solid hits against FGCU. In the first inning, Lee Solomon managed to beat out an infield hit before advancing to third due to a throwing error. Adam Lee then belted a homer, giving the Bisons an early 2-0 lead. The FGCU Eagles returned in the third inning to score four runs, two of which were due to a fielding error. The Bisons came back in the bottom of the...
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 Jade Spilka | May 24, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Director Lorene Scafaria’s sophomore film The Meddler focuses on overbearing widow Marnie Minervini (Susan Sarandon) who latches onto her daughter, Lori, (Rose Byrne) and anyone who will keep her company. The film opens with Marnie’s move to Los Angeles where her daughter works as a screenplay writer. Lori, however, is depressed from the loss of her father and a recent breakup, busy with work and feels smothered by her mother’s constant phone calls and text messages. Marnie, desiring to feel needed, begins volunteering at a hospital and giving large amounts of time and money to people she barely knows. A therapist suggests she may be spending so much because she feels guilty having her husband’s money. Marnie focuses most of her time on others but feels lonely in the process. She is rarely placed as a priority in anyone’s life until she meets a retired police officer named Zipper (J.K. Simmons) who is instantly attracted to her. The film follows Marnie’s journey in pursuit of her daughter’s time and her own happiness. She is led to find a balance in her life, and with the help of Zipper, finds love and friendship, too. The comedy-drama, while charming at times, lacked an apparent message and coherent storyline. There was no obvious struggle or villain which made it lack an aspect of entertainment that is usually crucial to a movie. The film was ultimately not engaging, but it was filled with extraordinary acting. Sarandon and Byrne’s delivery seems effortless. Sarandon’s strong Brooklyn accent is consistent, while Byrne, an Australian native, speaks with a flawless American accent. The Meddler certainly has sweet,...
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...
