by Charlie Bateman | May 18, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
After a season-ending sweep of Northern Kentucky last weekend, Lipscomb’s baseball team is primed for taking on the 2015 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Championship. The Bisons are in Fort Myers, Florida, where they will take on No. 5 seeded Florida Gulf Coast. This sweep of the Norse last weekend at Northern Kentucky’s Bill Aker Complex boosted team spirits heading into the A-Sun, according to Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand. “After a tough weekend against Stetson last week and then another one on Tuesday, it is good to see us get back on track with these three wins,” Forehand said. Lipscomb grabbed the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament after Stetson lost to tournament hosts FGCU in the final weekend of the regular season. The Bisons have won a record-breaking 35 games in the regular season. Going back to the NAIA days, no Lipscomb team has matched that victory total. Forehand said he has hopes for the Bisons to slug it out for their second A-Sun tournament championship. He also said that in so doing, the team could make the NCAA tournament for only the second time in school history (the last being in 2008). The coach said the Bisons’ bats and pitching arms were kept plenty busy — and looked plenty good — in completing that sweep last Saturday. “It is fun to watch us when we are attacking with all facets of our offense and the pitching staff is throwing as well as they are,” Forehand said after the 7-1 victory. The Bisons will now open the tournament at 6 p.m. Wednesday night at Swanson Stadium. It’s a tough task...
by Charlie Bateman | May 10, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb baseball took a 5-1 loss to Stetson Friday, but came out Saturday to take a 3-1 victory for senior night at Ken Dugan Field at Stephen L. Marsh Stadium. In Friday’s matchup, the Bisons could not get their bats going against the Hatter’s starting pitcher, Mitchell Jordan. Jordan pitched a complete game for Stetson. Lipscomb scored their only run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single from sophomore Hunter Hanks. The Bisons could not string enough base hits together to score more runs. But things started to look up for senior night on Saturday. The Bisons started the scoring in the bottom of the third with a sacrifice-fly from senior Grant Massey and an RBI single from senior Jonathan Allison. “This class of seniors has been very special to me,” Lipscomb head coach Jeff Forehand said. “We have been through a lot together.” Junior redshirt Adam Lee chipped in with a home run in the bottom of the fifth to add to the score for the Bisons. “Adam has had a great season for us offensively,” Forehand said. “He had a good swing to put a charge on the ball for a homerun.” Freshman Jeffrey Passantino had a great start on Saturday for the Bisons. Passantino went eight innings and gave the bullpen some rest before the last week of the season. This makes two starts in a row that Passantino has gone eight innings. “We are beginning to expect this from him all the time,” Forehand said. “He puts our team in a good position to win every time he goes out there on the mound.” With this win,...
by Charlie Bateman | May 9, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
School history was made when Lipscomb freshman men’s golfer Dawson Armstrong was selected to compete in the 2015 NCAA Division I men’s golf championship. As the Atlantic Sun Conference Newcomer of the Year, Armstrong is one of 45 individuals chosen to advance to Chapel Hill, North Carolina regional hosted by the University of North Carolina at the University of North Carolina Finley Golf Course. “I am glad I have the chance to represent Lipscomb,” Armstrong said. Armstrong said hopes he can continue his success into the NCAA tournament and show how Lipscomb athletes can compete with the best players. “With college golf, anyone can be just as good as you are,” Armstrong said. “You have to play your best, and sometimes your best is not good enough against college competition.” Armstrong said he has pushed himself to play his finest golf game no matter what the competition is like. Armstrong’s skill has set him up to meet the goals he and Lipscomb head men’s golf coach Will Brewer made at the beginning of the season. “Coach Brewer knew what my goals were going into the season and knows that getting there is a process,” Armstrong said. “He has helped me see the big picture and knows that I have to take each goal little by little and figure out how I can achieve what I have set out to accomplish.” Armstrong will head to North Carolina from May 14-16. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
by Patrick Carpenter | Apr 29, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
McCarley Thomas and Mimi Cartwright, both Lipscomb softball stars, share many similarities. The young women were rival pitchers in high school, but at Lipscomb, they play with each other. During their senior year in high school, they pitched against each other in the Region 5-AA semifinals. Cartwright (Goodpasture, 18-4) pitched a two-hitter, struck out 14 and walked none while Thomas (Lipscomb Academy, 10-13) pitched a three-hitter, struck out 15 and walked none in her final high school game. Their positions aren’t their only similarities — both were homecoming queens their senior year and have been roommates at Lipscomb the past two years. “We had a mutual friend who said ‘Hey, ya’ll should room together’ and so we met up and here we are,” Thomas said. Since her time on the high school mound, Cartwright has switched positions and is the Lady Bisons’ starting third baseman. Thomas, standing at 5-11, is listed as the third pitcher in the line-up and has seen action in relief several times this season. While there is sisterhood and similarity, the two have different types of personalities. Cartwright said she loves competition. She said she trives off it, and that is obvious. “When I’m challenged to something I just know that I want to win — like I’m gonna win and that’s all I think about,” Cartwright said. During her time at Goodpasture she also lettered in basketball and is known as a pool shark by her close friends. On the other hand, Thomas said she enjoys writing outside of being on the field. “I would much rather just go climb up in a tree and...
by Charlie Bateman | Apr 26, 2015 | Sports
Lipscomb may have beaten Kennesaw State in an extra inning 4-3 victory Friday night, but the Owls answered back in the final two games of the series at Ken Dugan Field in Stephen L. Marsh Stadium. The first game of the series came with a walk-off win for the Bisons courtesy of senior Josh Lee. Lee hit the walk-off double in the bottom of the tenth inning. Freshman Jeffrey Crisan had an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth, and senior Jonathan Allison had two RBI’s in the bottom of the first and third. Lipscomb was hoping to carry the momentum from the first game into the rest of the series. In the second game on Saturday afternoon, the Owls answered back, defeating the Bisons 4-3. Senior Mike Korte had two RBI’s in the second and seventh innings. KSU had three runs scored in the fifth due to RBI’s by Alex Liquori and Grant Williams. An error by Lipscomb second baseman Korte also contributed to the Owl’s scoring. Liquori had an RBI single in the top of the eighth for the Owls. Junior Chucky Vazquez tried to get something going for Lipscomb in the bottom of the ninth by hitting a solo home run, but Lipscomb could not tack on any more runs. The Bisons were looking for a better result in the final game on Sunday. The final game of the series resulted in a 12-5 Owls victory. KSU scored runs in the first, second, fourth, sixth, and eighth innings. The most productive inning for the Owls came in the top of the fourth, where they scored four runs. The Owl’s biggest hit came from...
by Danielle Kinnen | Apr 26, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb University held its Don Meyer Evening of Excellence Saturday night to recognize the journey of coach Jim White, who is the subject of the Disney movie McFarland USA. The Don Meyer Evening of Excellence is named after the legendary former Lipscomb basketball coach who passed away in May of 2014 after a battle to cancer. Meyer coached at Hamline University for three years, Lipscomb for 24 years and Northern State for 11 years and finished with a career record of 923-324 in 38 seasons. Over the last six years, Lipscomb has had speakers that include Coach Meyer, former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, Duke head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens, Phil, Si and Kay Robertson from Duck Dynasty and “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks. The evening in Allen Arena was filled with Lipscomb donors, athletes and family of the soon-to-be graduated seniors. White coached McFarland High School to nine cross country state championships in 14 years. Most of White’s runners were the children of immigrant field workers, as McFarland is one of the poorest cities in California. White shared some advice of his well-rounded programs with Lipscomb’s athletes. “No one can tell you that you won’t achieve something, because I just turned around and did it anyway,” White said. “You must continue to do right the things that you know how, and be patient. It’s a process — it cannot be built over night. “You have to have that drive in all aspects of life and especially for the student athletes who continue to work hard on and off the field.” Lipscomb alum Keith Hayes was impressed by the work put...
