NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb softball team beat the Chattanooga Mocs 11-10 Wednesday afternoon at Draper Diamond in a nine-inning thriller.
The bats were quiet early but sprung to life as the game came to a close, with both teams matching offensive outputs to keep the game going well beyond the standard seven innings.
Redshirt freshman pitcher Laine Barefoot picked up the win, improving to 5-5 on the season. Hailing from Louisburg, North Carolina, Barefoot allowed just one hit and collected 2 strikeouts.
Offensively, the Bisons were led by right fielder Presley Leebrick, who picked up two runs and four hits, including a double. The junior’s .349 batting average leads the team.
Barefoot’s first strikeout helped the Bisons to a scoreless top of the first defensively. Chattanooga picked up a hit early with a single and advanced to second on a steal, but that was as far as the visitors got in the opening frame.
On offense, Lipscomb grabbed two quick hits from senior Amy Vetula and Leebrick, respectively. Junior Maci Cunconan was walked on a 3-2 count to load the bases, and a Kamrie Rich single brought home the first point of the game.
Two straight outs put the inning in jeopardy, but Rich stole home a single pitch before the inning ended on a strikeout.
Barefoot continued her strong start by going three up, three down and sending things straight to the bottom of the second.
On offense, the bats kept swinging. Senior outfielder Jessie Brown scored on Leebrick’s RBI to extend the Lipscomb lead to 3-0 after two innings.
Neither team could capitalize on having multiple runners on base in the third, keeping the score at 3-0 in favor of the home side.
In the top of the fourth, a solo home run put the Mocs on the board. A pair of doubles gave the Mocs an RBI to cut the lead to one. A second homer brought two home, giving Chattanooga their first lead of the day.
Junior Emily Jakubowski relieved Barefoot and finished the inning, but Chattanooga stayed ahead 4-3.
The bottom of the fourth saw the Bisons restore even footing as Leebrick ran home, finishing off Kaitlyn Woodside’s double and tying the game at 4 apiece.
Junior fielder Elise Shewmaker singled in the bottom of the sixth to bring Leebrick home a second time on the day. Lipscomb brought that 5-4 lead into the seventh with the game on the line, and from there, the action truly took off.
With two outs and the game on the line, Chattanooga found a three-run home run when they needed it most, going ahead 7-5 and putting all the pressure on the Bisons.
“[That] hit was so deflating, and this team has experienced other deflating moments in games this year,” head coach Kristin Ryman said, “and I don’t know that we always had the fire and the fight and the toughness to battle back from that.”
On this occasion, Lipscomb’s offense shone, doing justice to the rally caps the Purple and Gold bullpen put on. Freshman infielder Tori Womack started the seventh-inning scoring with a single RBI, allowing junior Kelly Paulson to pick up the run.
Next up was a fly out from Amy Vetula, a senior from Canton, Georgia. Vetula, who only picked up one hit in nine at-bats last weekend against North Florida, brought junior Ashley Montoya home.
Vetula’s RBI was enough to tie the game at 7-7 and force an eighth inning, but there was more excitement to come.
In the extra eighth inning, Chattanooga continued to crack their bats. Two more runs came in on a quick two-run home run, with the Bisons needing two runs to stay alive for the second straight inning.
Again, though, the Bisons responded in the bottom of a game-saving inning. Down 9-7, Woodside and Kyndall Crawford earned runs on a double from sophomore Joie Giarrizzo. With the clutch hit, Lipscomb tied the contest at nine each and forced another inning.
“I think we just did a good job of being settled in the box, just finding a pitch that we could hit hard,” Rich said. “We were ready.”
Chattanooga did indeed take the lead for the third straight time in the top of the ninth, scoring on a throwing error at first base. Kate Peters, a freshman who closed at the mound, got the Bisons to the middle of the ninth down just 10-9 and with a chance to finally bring home the win.
After another RBI from Vetula which brought Brown home, a walkoff single from Rich sealed the deal. The redshirt junior catcher’s hit brought Vetula home and capped off a spirited comeback for the Bisons.
“That’s two games in a row we’ve won in extra innings,” Rich said, “[when] our back is against the wall. We had clutch plays in Florida, we had even clutcher today, and I think it’s just a total team effort right now, and we’re doing it.”
Ryman agreed, also noting the united mentality of her squad as conference play beckons.
“You talk about total team effort–that was it in a nutshell,” Ryman said. “We saw a lot of maturity and growth last weekend, and I think that carried over into tonight.”
Looking ahead to the bulk of the conference season, Ryman sees the potential for momentum to build from this turning point.
“We’re growing, and I’m just expecting continued growth. I’ve asked for that all year; we’ve had our growing pains moments, and I think that this group is finally starting to figure some of those things out.”
The Bisons return to ASUN action in a weekend series against FGCU. A doubleheader Saturday kicks things off at 1 and 3 p.m. followed by a noon start time Sunday, all of which will be played at Draper Diamond.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics