by Martin Baker | Feb 10, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s tennis team defeated North Alabama in their match on Sat., Feb. 8 at the Richmond Tennis Club. This was the Bisons’ first win of the season, making their record 1-1. “We only had five players when we are supposed to have six, so we were in a bit of a hole to start the matches, but our guys were aware that that was going to be something we would have to deal with this week,” said head coach Mario Hernandez. “They handled it great and came out with good intensity and focus right from the start to prevent us from getting even into more of a hole.” Lipscomb’s David Salazar and Robert Mitchell took down Benjamin Poire and Max Druppel of North Alabama 6-4 in doubles. Also in doubles, Stuart Tierney and Miguel Cortez of Lipscomb won their match 6-5(3). “The guys played pretty loose and didn’t seem to get tight with some of the pressure we faced. I was happy to see that. You want your team to embrace the challenges and the pressure that is going to come with competition,” Hernandez said. In singles, every player was able to snag a victory. No. 1 Salazar beat Guillaume Dechoz 6-3, 6-5. No. 2 Tierney beat Poire 6-1, 6-3 and No. 4 Cortez beat Aliaksei Kavalenka 6-4, 6-3. No. 3 Mitchell beat Druppel 6-4 in the first set and then defeated him in the second set 6-0. No. 5 Nacor Ibanez beat North Alabama’s Ali Murad after a tough tiebreaker that ended 3-6, 6-1, (10-8) “This match is only the second one of our season,” Hernandez said. “We...
by Bridgette Begle | Feb 10, 2014 | Sports
By Bridgette Begle and Erika Thornsberry With temperatures dropping into single digits in recent weeks, spring sports have seen little time outside on their fields, courts and courses. Tennis, golf, baseball and softball are being forced to share time inside as the winter weather continues to blow through. Senior golfer MacKenzy Carter says, “Being inside creates a disadvantage for us because we can’t actually hit off of real grass. The indoor mats and nets don’t allow us to actually see the ball flight and judge distance.” Golf uses the nets on the side of the court in McQuiddy while baseball and softball share time in the upper levels where the pitching mounds and two hitting cages are located. “Going from the field to a tiny space with only two cages limits space for the team to work together,” said sophomore softball player Tanner Sanders. Sanders is a pitcher for the Lady Bison and goes on to say, “The lighting inside [McQuiddy] is terrible. Therefore our pitchers cannot pitch live inside the cages. Not to mention we will also need a lot of work on defense before season begins which isn’t possible if we are inside.” Tennis is missing its outdoor courts because of the role that natural elements play in their game. “The biggest difference between indoor and outdoor tennis are the sun, the wind and the temperature,” says senior Stuart Tierney. “Outdoors you have to play with the elements. You have to understand which way the wind is blowing, and where the sun is in the sky.” This cold weather isn’t the only thing bringing these spring sport...
by Jesica Parsley | Feb 9, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
Senior Kristen Sturdivant’s walk-off home run gave the Lady Bisons a 2-1 victory over Virginia Tech Hokies on Sunday at Draper Diamond. Going into the bottom of the seventh inning, the game was tied 1-1. The Lady Bisons made solid contact the entire game but still needed a big hit. Sturdivant, the leadoff batter in the seventh, delivered. “My last at-bat, I was just trying to make up for my previous at-bat and learning from that mistake,” Sturdivant said. “I was looking for the outside pitch, and that’s what I got.” The first hit of the game came in the second inning. A solo home run by Virginia Tech Vanessa Gonzalez gave Tech the 1-0 lead. Lipscomb junior Brianne Welch led off the third inning with a double to left center field. A sacrifice bunt by Lipscomb sophomore Brittany Elmore moved Welch over to third base. Welch then scored on a wild pitch to even the game at 1-1. Tech threatened in the fifth with its redshirt sophomore Katey Smith earning a lead off walk. Tech junior Lauren Gaskill was hit by a pitch, and then Tech senior Kat Banks was walked to load the bases. Lipscomb sophomore Tanner Sanders got out of the inning when Tech junior Kylie McGoldrick lined out to third base. Tech’s Kelly Heinz retired 10 straight batters after Welch scored. She is now 1-1 in the circle this season allowing just two hits, two runs (one earned) with two walks and seven strikeouts in the loss to the Lady Bisons. Sanders picked up the win and complete game, allowing one run on just two hits with...
by Aaron Schmelzer | Feb 9, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
The Force was strong with the Bisons in Saturday’s game against ETSU in Allen Arena, but not strong enough. Lipscomb Athletics hosted the 6th annual Star Wars night during the Bisons’ game against Eastern Tennessee State University but the team fell 96-88 to the visiting Buccaneers. While the children got pictures with their favorite bounty hunters, Jedi and even Darth Vader, Lipscomb stayed neck-and-neck with the Bucs until about the final three minutes. From the tip-off, freshman guard Josh Williams scored the first three points of the game from the left of the basket. From there, neither team stopped shooting threes. The Buccaneers attempted 15 shots from the arch in the game and made seven. Junior ETSU guard Jalen Riley scored 12 points behind the arc, while scoring 30 in total for the night. The Bisons made 13 of their 34 three-point attempts, finishing with a 38 percent three-point shooting percentage. It was a close game, as the scored had been tied 15 times, and there were 27 lead changes. The Bisons’ scoring slowed and nearly came to a halt in the final minutes as ETSU pulled away with free throws. Head coach Casey Alexander said that although the team kept it close, the Bisons could not get in rhythm or be aggressive. “We never got in a rhythm defensively. We could never get stops together; we could never stop their offensive momentum. “We weren’t necessarily behind in points, but we were never the aggressor out in front out there.” Lipscomb had two players cross the 20 points mark. Junior forward Malcolm Smith lead the team with 27 points. Redshirt...
by Carter Sanderson | Feb 7, 2014 | Sports
You can hear them now. The loud chants from the dugout of a softball field are right around the corner as the team gets ready for another season under head coach Kristin Ryman. The Lady Bison softball team has worked hard in the off season after a tremendous effort last year and have high hopes as they start to prepare for the new season ahead. The team dusted off the gloves and shined the bats earlier in the semester for their upcoming season as Monday, Jan. 13, marked the first official day. “Right now, we’re getting a lot of hitting trying to work around the weather,” said assistant coach Megan Smith. “The field has been a little bit wet, but we’ve been able to get outside.” The Atlantic Sun conference schedule starts a week earlier this year, which eliminates the opportunity to play in a lot of additional tournaments, so the Lady Bisons will play a bit of a shorter schedule than the usual tournament run. The team has spent most of their first week in McQuiddy Gym due to the weather and the fields being wet; however, Smith says she is pleased with the work they are able to get in. “We’re trying to do some of those little things that we need to finish right before we get going and really don’t have time to work mechanics,” Smith said. Ryman also chimed in and said she expects another tough A-Sun season with the top teams in the conference returning the majority of their players, and Smith is excited about who the Lady Bisons have coming back as...
by Cory Woodroof | Feb 6, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
When you extend your conference winning streak to four, the best way to do so is to win by knocking down a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds to go in the game. At least that’s what works for the Lipscomb Bisons men’s basketball team. After a road stretch in Kentucky and Florida, freshman guard Josh Williams’ game-ending three gave the Bisons a 77-75 win over the visiting USC Upstate at Allen Arena – the fourth straight Atlantic Sun win for Lipscomb. After Thursday’s win, the Bisons are officially on a hot streak. During a tense first half, the Bisons and the Spartans swapped the lead on more than one occasion, as neither team ever truly broke away from the other. Upstate grabbed a quick 31-29 lead at the half. In the second, Lipscomb and Upstate continued to showcase the ebb-and-flow nature of their battle, with neither team getting up for too long. However, the Spartans gained late steam, holding a 71-63 lead with a little over two minutes to go. But, a Chad Johnson three-pointer gave the Bisons a spark, as Williams and redshirt freshman guard J.C. Hampton also knocked down shots from the arch to help put the Bisons within three with around a minute to go. A Hampton layup pulled the team within one, and after Williams’ last-second jaw-dropper from the three-point line, the Bisons held the Spartans’ offense during the closing seconds to get the win. Williams and Hampton led the charge for the Bisons in scoring with 21, while senior forward Torrey Craig led for the Spartans with 18. Lipscomb’s junior forward Martin Smith had 14 points, while...
