by Chad Johnson | Apr 3, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
In what was the second meeting between the teams this season, the Lipscomb softball team split in their doubleheader with UAB on Wednesday at Draper Diamond. In the first game, the Purple and Gold used its defense to propel them to a 2-1 victory. Sophomore Brittany Elmore drove in the two runs on a walk-off double in the first game. However, in the second game, they struggled to keep the Blazers off the base, resulting in a 5-3 loss. “Getting the win the first game was huge for us,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “Obviously, we wanted the sweep…we thought we had a chance to win it, but UAB did a really great job of coming back with two runs late.” The Lady Bisons came into the contest ranked 35th in the nation and with a record of 28-8, so, on paper, they are the better team, but UAB, a member of the Conference USA, has had the upper-hand in the series since the “rivalry” began in 2010. The Lady Bisons defeated the Blazers 9-5 in February during the Getterman Classic in Waco, Texas. To Lipscomb’s credit, they earned the Atlantic Sun’s 24th win against a 2013 NCAA Tournament team with the win. Coming off weekend losses to conference rival USC Upstate, the Lady Bisons wanted to regain some of their confidence against UAB. “I thought we played well, and we attacked the ball better than we did last weekend,” Ryman said. “That was good to see.” Coach Ryman gave a lot of credit to the team’s pitching for its win in the first game and added if they had kept...
by Bridgette Begle | Mar 17, 2014 | Opinion, Sports
In our home series against Jacksonville we took two big wins on Saturday and spent some time dancing in the rain on Sunday. Saturday’s first game was nothing short of a roller coaster ride. Until the fifth inning it was tied at zero, but both teams had hot bats. The Dolphins struck first scoring four runs in the sixth inning. We only scratched one that inning but labeled ourselves the “Comeback Kids” later in the game. Losing 1-4 going into the seventh is not an ideal situation at all, but with the help of Kristen Sturdivant, who earned A-Sun player of the week, we matched their three run lead. After we rallied back to take the game into extra innings, Jacksonville started the inning off with a solo home run and went on to score two more runs. We connected some hits here and there and found a way to comeback again even after trailing by three. In the top of the ninth, the Dolphins couldn’t find a way to push one across so all we had to do was score one. With two runners on, slapper Brittany Elmore sent one over the right field fence, pushing our lead and finishing score to 10-7. With pounding hearts, we all decided to make the next game a little less stressful for everyone, including our fans. We came out and run ruled Jacksonville in the fifth with a grand slam by Brianne Welch to lock it in at 11-0. The real fun started on Sunday when the rain delay was in effect and both teams moved into Allen Arena to kill...
by Jesica Parsley | Mar 10, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons softball team won its second conference series against Florida Gulf Coast University this weekend in Nashville at Draper Diamond. Saturday’s doubleheader was full of nail biting and clutch hitting for the Lady Bisons. Lipscomb won both games. FGCU scored one run in the first game off an RBI single from senior catcher Chelsea Zgrabik. Not much action happened again until the bottom of the fifth inning. Freshman infielder Mimi Cartwright singled to leadoff. Junior outfielder Brianne Welch reached on a fielder’s choice. Sophomore outfielder Brittany Elmore got a bunt single to load the bases. Junior infielder Paige Neely singled up the middle to score Mimi Cartwright and Welch to give Lipscomb the 2-1 lead. The Lady Eagles responded in the sixth scoring two runs off of senior infielder Brittney Garabedian’s single up the middle. Junior outfielder Kelsey Carpenter and freshman infielder Tori Van Camp scored to give FGCU the 3-2 lead. The Lady Bisons tied the game in the bottom of the inning off Elmore’s RBI single to center field. The Lady Eagles took the lead in the seventh after Garabedian hit a solo homerun. However, the Lady Bisons weren’t finished. Senior infielder Kelsey Cartwright knocked a solo homerun with one out to tie the game 4-4. With one runner on base, senior catcher/infielder Haley Elliott hits a pinch-hit home run to give the Lady Bisons a 6-4 victory in game one. Lipscomb senior pitcher Ashley Anderson went all seven innings giving up four runs on five hits while striking out five batters. In game two, Lipscomb got on the board first off an RBI single...
by Jesica Parsley | Mar 6, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons softball team swept Ohio University Wednesday afternoon at Draper Diamond. Game one was pretty quiet until the fourth inning. Ohio University sophomore infielder Alexia Cortez reached on an error then stole second. Cortez scored on a throwing error to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. The Lady Bisons had a couple of hits through five innings, but the game-changing hit came in the sixth. Junior outfielder/infielder Gracey Aguirre got walked. Senior infielder Kristen Sturdivant hit a two-run homerun over the left center field fence to give the Lipscomb the 2-1 lead. “We knew we were going to have to make adjustments throughout the game, and I knew going up to the plate, with Gracey on base, it was my time to step up,” Sturdivant said. The Bobcats threatened in the seventh inning. Ohio’s senior infielder Alexandria Basquez got a leadoff single and then was bunted over to second. Sophomore pitcher Savannah Jo Dorsey hit a single to center field. Lipscomb’s outfielder/infielder Brittany Elmore threw the tying run out at the plate. Ohio’s junior outfielder Dakota Pyles singled to load the bases with two outs. Lipscomb pitcher Ashley Anderson got a strikeout to end the game. Anderson remains unbeaten with a 7-0 record and finished the game with seven strikeouts while giving up two hits. “We showed great composure in that tight situation, and Ashley [Anderson] did a nice job of staying focused,” said Lady Bisons head coach Kristin Ryman. The Lipscomb bats came to life in game two of the doubleheader. The Bobcats struck first, but the Lady Bisons answered scoring two runs in the first off a...
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...
