by Charlie Bateman | Apr 7, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb softball took the doubleheader 3-2 and 13-1 from the Memphis Tigers at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium Tuesday afternoon. The Lady Bisons came out dressed in pink jerseys to raise awareness for breast cancer. In the first game, Memphis got a two-run homer by catcher Haley Ross in the top of the second. Lipscomb tied it up in the bottom of the fourth, with two runs scored on a bases-loaded single by freshman Caitlin Plocheck. Plocheck broke the tie in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run. “Plocheck is a very talented hitter,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “The quality of her at-bats seem to get better and better.” Lipscomb continued its clutch hitting in the second game, with a final score of 13-1. The Lady Bisons scored a season high 12 runs in the bottom of the second. The major hit of the inning was a grand slam by junior Baylee Williams. “She has an effortless swing,” Ryman said. “It doesn’t always look explosive, but she has good hands.” Senior Brianne Welch had the other big hit in the inning, with a two-run homer that actually bounced off the scoreboard. “Brianne has as much raw power as anyone on the team,” Ryman said. “When she gets a hold of one, it is going to go out of the ballpark.” The Memphis Tigers played Lipscomb close in the first game, but could not solve junior Tanner Sanders’ pitching in the second game. Sanders not only got her first save in the first game, but she also pitched a complete second game. The Tigers scored its only run...
by Charlie Bateman | Mar 31, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
Mississippi State took down Lipscomb in a 1-0 win Tuesday afternoon at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. Lipscomb and Mississippi State were tied at zero until the fifth inning. It was not until the Bulldogs’ designated player Mackenzie Toler got a run-scoring single in the top of the fifth to make the only run in the competition. Junior pitcher Tanner Stevens gave up one run and had nine strikeouts on the game. “Tanner was really attacking the zone,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “She did a tremendous job. You can not ask for more than what she gave us today.” Ryman said she hopes that Stevens will continue her excellent pitching by hitting her spots for future starts. Mississippi sent out its number one starter and ace hurler Alexis Silkwood in the circle. Silkwood had four strikeouts and allowed two hits. Ryman was not surprised that Mississippi had its number one starter go against Lipscomb. “She is doing some good things for them,” Ryman said. Freshman Caitlin Plocheck extended her hitting streak to five games. Plocheck had a single in the bottom of the second. “Her last two at-bats were still quality,” Ryman said. “We are starting to see what we knew she was capable of. That is exciting for us as we move into the last half of conference play.” Ryman said she hopes Plocheck and others will become strong hitters as they go through the rest of the season. Lipscomb will travel to Florida for some Atlantic Sun action with Jacksonville this weekend. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
by Chad Johnson | Mar 24, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
It was a tale of two games for the Lipscomb softball team on Tuesday afternoon. After dropping the first game 9-2, the Lady Bisons bounced back winning 3-1 in game two against Western Kentucky at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. In game one, the Lady Toppers opened the score in the third inning, but Lipscomb tied the score in the bottom of third. Junior outfielder Brittany Elmore hit a single to right field, then stole second before junior infielder Baylee Williams drove her home on a single up the middle. Things began to unravel for the Lady Bisons in the fifth inning as the Hilltoppers capitalized on two hits, two walks and two hit batters for five runs. Elmore scored the only other run in the bottom of the fifth on an error. She also stole three bases, bringing her season total to 27. The Lady Toppers went on to score two more runs in the sixth before adding their ninth and final run in the last inning. Junior Tanner Sanders was accredited with the loss. She surrendered seven runs, five hits, walked seven and struck out two batters in five innings of work. Sophomore McCarley Thomas gave up two hits and two earned runs in two innings of relief. Following the first game, Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman stressed that the team needed the leaders to step up. “Leadership’s a big thing for us,” Ryman said. “We’ve got to play with a little bit more fire. It starts with our seniors — them bringing that fire and leadership everyday in practice and then bringing it on game day.” In game two, senior outfielder Brianne Welch opened the third inning with...
by Jesica Parsley | Mar 22, 2015 | Sports
The Lipscomb softball team won one of three games in this weekend’s series against Stetson at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. The Lady Bisons took game one of the series Saturday 10-3. Stetson scored three runs in the first inning, but Lipscomb responded with four runs. Junior infielder Baylee Williams hit a sacrifice fly to score junior outfielder Brittany Elmore for Lipscomb’s first run of the game. Freshman catcher Abby Fenichel hit a double to score Lipscomb’s third and fourth runs in the first inning. Senior outfielder Brianne Welch led off the sixth inning with a solo home run. Senior outfielder Gracey Aguirre hit a two-run home run with two outs in the sixth to round out the Lady Bison’s scoring in game one. Senior infielder Paige Neely had three hits and two RBIs. Junior Kelly Young pitched seven innings, giving up just four hits with 10 strikeouts. Stetson took game two on Saturday 4-0. Lipscomb only managed to get three hits from Neely, Fenichel and sophomore infielder Mimi Cartwright. Stetson scored all four runs in the third, including a home run from Demi Meza. Junior Tanner Sanders pitched seven innings, giving up six hits with five strikeouts. Stetson took the series in game three on Sunday 6-3 in eight innings. The Lady Bisons scored one run in the first and second inning. Young took a no-hitter into the sixth. Stetson rallied late in the sixth inning, starting with a solo home run from Brittany Hawn. Another home run from Stetson’s Amanda Grimaldo in the seventh pushed the Hatters ahead 3-2. Lipscomb responded with a run in the bottom of the seventh when sophomore Becca Dean scored...
by Charlie Bateman | Mar 11, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb softball team improved its record to 9-10 after winning against Southern Illinois 3-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. Lipscomb started slow after having a long break between games. In the first inning, the Bisons had two wild pitches that were a big key to the two runs scored by the Salukis. “After having a long layoff you never really know how your team is going to react,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “We didn’t let the first inning dictate the whole game.” Lipscomb answered back with an RBI as a result of a sacrifice fly by senior Gracey Aguirre. The Bisons tied the game in the bottom of the second with another sacrifice fly by senior Paige Neely. It was not until the bottom of the sixth when junior Baylee Williams broke the tie with a solo home run. “I really want to win for my teammates,” Williams said. “I wasn’t going up there looking for a home run. I was just wanting to get a base hit.” Ryman said it was important to get clutch hits like Bailey’s on a regular basis. “As a team we try to go up to the plate and make something happen,” Ryman said. “I think if we do that consistently we are going to be okay.” Southern Illinois was aggressive in trying to score runs, but could only manage to pick them up in the first inning. The Salukis had an interesting way to deliver signs to batters at the plate. Ryman said Southern Illinois team looked at their wristbands every time they stepped out of the box. “It is a signal,” Ryman...
