Freshman pitcher Noah Thompson won his first career game on the mound against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights to close out a tough weekend at home.
Thompson, Lipscomb’s starting pitcher, allowed four hits and only walked one batter to lead the Bisons to a 3 – 1 victory on Sunday. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Bisons. Lipscomb lost to Indiana State on Friday and Kent State on Saturday.
Fairleigh Dickinson’s hitting came easy early against Thompson with a leadoff double by Brandon Seltzer in the first inning. He advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and was brought home on an RBI single from Bobby Romano.
“That’s not a good way to start off,” Thompson said about his start. “I usually get better as I go on. Once I get past that first inning, I’m usually pretty good.”
Thompson went on to pitch the first five innings. He faced 21 batters, striking out five of them. He only allowed two hits after the first inning.
“He’s a guy we’re going to count on every weekend,” coach Jeff Forehand said on Thompson. “He got us through five innings today. And the bullpen came in behind him and did a great job.”
Center fielder Josh Martinez got the Bisons rolling on offense with a solo homer over the right field wall to tie the game at one in the bottom of the second. Martinez’s solo shot was followed by singles from Chris Bashlor and Blake Thomas. Despite allowing three hits on consecutive at bats, pitcher Corey Zeller closed out the inning with two strikeouts and a fly out, leaving two runners stranded.
The Bisons’ success at the plate continued in the third inning. Third baseman Zeke Dodson dropped a hit down the right-field line for a standup triple. Jake Perry hit a sacrifice fly to the center-field wall bringing in Dodson to take the lead 2 – 1.
Dodson leads the team with the best batting average (.455). He had 3 hits and 1 run.
Allan Hooker got up limping in the fourth inning after sliding into second during a double play for Fairleigh Dickinson.
“I think he got a high ankle sprain,” Forehand said. “We’re banged up early in the season, but that’s why you’ve got a deep roster.”
Knights pitcher, Zeller was replaced by Evan Raiburn in the fifth inning after walking Solomon. Solomon stole second and advanced to third on a ground out from Sorrells. Perry singled to left field for his second RBI allowing Solomon to score, extending the Bisons’ lead 3 – 1.
Lipscomb found themselves in dangerous territory pitching in the top of the sixth. Adam Stewart replaced Thompson on the mound. Voneslinger was walked, and Fatzinger hit a ball to center field to advance Voneslinger to third.
Stewart was then replaced by Habegger, but it did not get better. He balked, advancing the runners to second and third, and he hit the next batter with a pitch, loading the bases. The Bisons escaped the inning with no allowed runs behind pitching from Nicko Ortega.
Thompson’s first win proved to be a much-needed success from the mound after a weekend of shaky pitching for Lipscomb. In their 17 – 3 loss against Indiana State on Friday, the Bisons went through seven pitchers, allowed 14 hits and walked 14 batters. Their pitching saw improvement in their 3 – 1 loss against Kent State on Saturday, but they stumbled in a disastrous seventh inning with Ortega on the mound.
Ortega walked two, hit a batter, and threw a wild pitch that advanced a runner to third in the game against Kent State. Ortega was able to redeem himself with some clutch relief pitching when he came in with the Knights in scoring position. He struck out Jason Ortiz to close out the top of the sixth.
Lipscomb struggled with batting this weekend too. The Bisons had five hits against Indiana State and three against Kent State. They improved against the Knights with seven hits on their three pitchers.
The Bisons will play six games over the next six days.
“It’s a great test for our team in the early point of the season to see what we need to get ready for conference play,” Forehand said about the upcoming games.
Lipscomb begins the six-game stretch at Tennessee Tech on Monday at 3 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics