Lipscomb softball splits doubleheader against Western Kentucky

It was a tale of two games for the Lipscomb softball team on Tuesday afternoon. After dropping the first game 9-2, the Lady Bisons bounced back winning 3-1 in game two against Western Kentucky at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. In game one, the Lady Toppers opened the score in the third inning, but Lipscomb tied the score in the bottom of third. Junior outfielder Brittany Elmore hit a single to right field, then stole second before junior infielder Baylee Williams drove her home on a single up the middle. Things began to unravel for the Lady Bisons in the fifth inning as the Hilltoppers capitalized on two hits, two walks and two hit batters for five runs. Elmore scored the only other run in the bottom of the fifth on an error. She also stole three bases, bringing her season total to 27. The Lady Toppers went on to score two more runs in the sixth before adding their ninth and final run in the last inning. Junior Tanner Sanders was accredited with the loss. She surrendered seven runs, five hits, walked seven and struck out two batters in five innings of work. Sophomore McCarley Thomas gave up two hits and two earned runs in two innings of relief. Following the first game, Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman stressed that the team needed the leaders to step up. “Leadership’s a big thing for us,” Ryman said. “We’ve got to play with a little bit more fire. It starts with our seniors — them bringing that fire and leadership everyday in practice and then bringing it on game day.” In game two, senior outfielder Brianne Welch opened the third inning with...

Softball takes one of three from Stetson in weekend series

The Lipscomb softball team won one of three games in this weekend’s series against Stetson at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium.  The Lady Bisons took game one of the series Saturday 10-3. Stetson scored three runs in the first inning, but Lipscomb responded with four runs. Junior infielder Baylee Williams hit a sacrifice fly to score junior outfielder Brittany Elmore for Lipscomb’s first run of the game. Freshman catcher Abby Fenichel hit a double to score Lipscomb’s third and fourth runs in the first inning. Senior outfielder Brianne Welch led off the sixth inning with a solo home run. Senior outfielder Gracey Aguirre hit a two-run home run with two outs in the sixth to round out the Lady Bison’s scoring in game one. Senior infielder Paige Neely had three hits and two RBIs. Junior Kelly Young pitched seven innings, giving up just four hits with 10 strikeouts. Stetson took game two on Saturday 4-0. Lipscomb only managed to get three hits from Neely, Fenichel and sophomore infielder Mimi Cartwright. Stetson scored all four runs in the third, including a home run from Demi Meza. Junior Tanner Sanders pitched seven innings, giving up six hits with five strikeouts. Stetson took the series in game three on Sunday 6-3 in eight innings. The Lady Bisons scored one run in the first and second inning. Young took a no-hitter into the sixth. Stetson rallied late in the sixth inning, starting with a solo home run from Brittany Hawn. Another home run from Stetson’s Amanda Grimaldo in the seventh pushed the Hatters ahead 3-2. Lipscomb responded with a run in the bottom of the seventh when sophomore Becca Dean scored...

Baseball takes two of three from Xavier

The Bison baseball team won the series with Xavier over the weekend, but Xavier took the Sunday game 5-1. On Friday night Lipscomb played small ball as senior Jonathon Allison and redshirt freshman Allan Hooker both had run scoring singles in the bottom of the first inning. It was not until the top of the sixth that Xavier center fielder Brian Bruening hit a two run homer for the Musketeers, the only two runs scored by Xavier. Lipscomb scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh, with a RBI single from senior Grant Massey and an insurance run provided by redshirt junior Adam Lee. The Bisons final tally of the game came with a run scoring double from freshman Jeffrey Crisan. The second game of the series, resulted in an 11-1 win for Lipscomb. Xavier started the third inning with a run that ended up being their only score of the game. Lipscomb answered right back, scoring two runs of their own in the bottom of the third. In the bottom of the fourth, Lipscomb had a lead-off homerun by Allison. The Bisons had a big inning in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs, and senior Grant Massey started it with a two-run scoring double. Allison provided a run scoring double, and Hooker provided a RBI triple. Hooker also scored the final run of the inning on a wild pitch. It was not until the bottom of the eighth that Lipscomb again scored three runs on a two run homer from freshman Michael Gigliotti and a run scoring triple from senior Mike Korte. In the final game on Sunday...

Men’s and women’s tennis fall short in opening conference matches

While most Lipscomb students were on spring break, the men’s and women’s tennis teams were hard at work starting Atlantic Sun Conference play. The men’s tennis team started off their spring break with a strong 6-1 win over the University of North Alabama on March 18 at home. The Bisons won two of the three doubles matches to get the winning point, and in singles action, the Bisons dominated. Sophomore Rob Mitchell, freshman Alejandro Manzanares, freshman Philippe Courteau, junior John Tougher and freshman Thais Minet all won their singles matches outright. Following the dominating performance over North Alabama, the Bisons looked to take the momentum into their first conference match against the University of North Florida on March 19. However, the men fell short in their first conference outing. The men lost 4-1 with the only singles victory coming from Mitchell, and the team did not win a doubles point. While the men were busy with their week, the women’s team was just as hard at work. The women started off the week on March 17 against Western Kentucky hoping to get a win before conference play, but the team fell short, losing 4-3. The Lady Bisons hoped to make a quick turnaround from the loss when they also took on UNF at home on March 19, but they fell 4-0 to the Ospreys. Freshman Hannah Gamage and junior Danielle Kinnen won the only point for the Lady Bisons. The duo won their doubles match 8-0, and the Lady Bisons did not win a singles point. Both the men and women are back in action on Saturday, March 21. The women travel to...

Lipscomb baseball sweeps Quinnipiac in weekend series

The Lipscomb baseball team swept the games against Quinnipiac this weekend at Ken Dugan Field at Stephen L. Marsh Stadium.  Though the weekend got off to a rainy start, the Bisons won 5-0 in Friday night’s game. The Bisons brought their record 10-5 Saturday night when they won 9-4. As the rain cleared Sunday, the Bisons took a 3-1 victory. In Friday’s rainy matchup, neither team scored until the fifth inning, where the Bisons took the lead with two runs. Senior pitcher Ian Martinez-McGraw allowed only three hits from the Bobcats in eight scoreless frames. Freshman center fielder Michael Gigliotti made a leadoff double into left field just before running home to score in the sixth inning. In the seventh inning, the Bisons evened out the score with two insurance tallies. Lipscomb scored five runs in Friday’s matchup, marking the first time the Bisons have won without scoring seven runs this season. The Bisons returned to the diamond Saturday afternoon, where the Quinnipiac Bobcats took the lead with runs in the second and third innings. But Lipscomb responded with a two-run frame in the home half of the third. To get the Bisons’s offense started, senior second baseman Mike Korte and junior first baseman Adam Lee scored back-to-back solo home runs. Lipscomb took its first lead in the fourth inning after senior left fielder Jonathan Allison drew a lead-off walk. In the bottom of the fifth the Bobcats created a small rally after Mike Palladino knocked a two-out single to right. The Bisons responded taking the lead with a four-run frame. Lipscomb added its final run in the eighth inning. The clear sky and sun brought out another win...

Lipscomb softball defeats Southern Illinois 3-2

The Lipscomb softball team improved its record to 9-10 after winning against Southern Illinois 3-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. Lipscomb started slow after having a long break between games. In the first inning, the Bisons had two wild pitches that were a big key to the two runs scored by the Salukis. “After having a long layoff you never really know how your team is going to react,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “We didn’t let the first inning dictate the whole game.” Lipscomb answered back with an RBI as a result of a sacrifice fly by senior Gracey Aguirre. The Bisons tied the game in the bottom of the second with another sacrifice fly by senior Paige Neely. It was not until the bottom of the sixth when junior Baylee Williams broke the tie with a solo home run. “I really want to win for my teammates,” Williams said. “I wasn’t going up there looking for a home run. I was just wanting to get a base hit.” Ryman said it was important to get clutch hits like Bailey’s on a regular basis. “As a team we try to go up to the plate and make something happen,” Ryman said. “I think if we do that consistently we are going to be okay.” Southern Illinois was aggressive in trying to score runs, but could only manage to pick them up in the first inning. The Salukis had an interesting way to deliver signs to batters at the plate. Ryman said Southern Illinois team looked at their wristbands every time they stepped out of the box. “It is a signal,” Ryman...