Get your brooms out, folks.
In a battle of young rosters, Lipscomb (23-7) defeated Conference USA foe Western Kentucky (18-15) in a mid-week doubleheader to snag a seventh consecutive win.
Western Kentucky has one of the youngest teams in the country with nine freshman, two sophomores, three juniors and two seniors. Lipscomb follows closely with six freshman, four sophomores, three juniors and three seniors. The two teams have met 27 times with Lipscomb leading the way in the series.
Sophomore pitcher Mandy Jordan showed why she is this week’s ASUN Pitcher of the Week and TSWA Pitcher of the Week as she led her team to victory with 12 strikeouts and an almost perfect game.
“I thought Mandy did a great job in game one,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “I don’t feel like they were really able to generate anything against her until that home run in the seventh.”
Freshman Chloe Yeager got things started on offense with a RBI in the top of the second to put Lipscomb on the board 1-0. Senior Kasey Gibson followed up with two runs batted in to extend the lead 3-0.
Jordan continued the momentum by cranking up the heat in the fifth inning and striking out three Hilltoppers in a row.
Jordan kissed the no-hitter and shutout goodbye when Jordan Mauch for WKU smashed a home run over right-center field in the top of the seventh inning.
Lipscomb held off the Hilltoppers for the remainder of the game as they defeated WKU 4-1 in the first game.
“We only had six hits on the board, but I’m not disappointed with the hitting at all,” Ryman said. “Maybe just could’ve gotten another key hit here or there with the bases loaded in those situations, but I thought we were hitting the ball pretty well in game one.”
Coach Ryman described game two as being pretty “ugly.”
Although the Lady Bisons’ had such a slow start, freshman Hannah DeVault was the spark that ignited the Lady Bisons to grab their come-from-behind win.
“I love my team and getting in and getting the job done was really good,” DeVault said. “I don’t even think about being a freshman because we just all enjoy each others’ presence, and it’s a blessing.”
Pitching was a major factor in game two as Senior McCarley Thomas struggled in the beginning of the game with illegal pitches that allowed a few runners to advance for the Hilltoppers.
Kathryn Downing took the mound for Western Kentucky as their defending ace, and the Lady Bisons struggled to get on base against her.
The Hilltoppers switched gears in game two when a few questionable calls from the umpires fired them up. You could see the fire in Downing’s eyes as she faced each batter, hungry for a challenge. The Hilltoppers scrappy defense and success on offense put them ahead early 2-0.
Due to a shoulder injury, Downing withdrew from the game which greatly benefited the Lady Bisons.
“We did a really nice job of adjusting quickly to the pitching change,” Ryman noted.
Sophomore Sarah Higgins started off the bottom of the fifth with an RBI double to put Lipscomb on the board.
For the biggest play of the game, DeVault smashed the ball into center field to bring in two runs.
“Honestly when they changed the pitchers I was glad because she pitched fast, and I really like fast pitching,” DeVault said. Soon after, Yeager brought in another run to put Lipscomb ahead 4-2.
Thomas refocused and finished out the game allowing six hits and only one earned run.
“Not always the way we would’ve liked to see this game play out, but this team keeps finding ways to win,” Ryman said.
“A trademark of this team is that we can win in a lot of different ways.”
The matchup against the Hilltoppers is the final tune-up for the Lipscomb before heading into conference play this weekend.
The Lady Bisons head into ASUN conference play this weekend as they face USC Upstate on Saturday for another doubleheader at noon. The teams will meet again on Sunday with the last game at noon.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics