Bisons bow out in A-Sun final

In a season that saw great improvement over the last, the 2014 Lipscomb Bisons’ baseball season came to an end on Sunday with a 7-1 loss to Kennesaw State in the Atlantic Sun Championship final. A win would have put the Bisons in a winner-take-all second match against Kennesaw State, with the victor advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Lipscomb posted a NCAA era school record for wins in a season with 33, and the Bisons also set a new team record for winning percentage with a 33-28 mark. The Bisons scored their lone run for the game in the second inning thanks to a hit from senior catcher Nick Rome that scored junior designated hitter Tyson Ashcraft. After an Owls scored a run in the third frame, the game remained knotted at one run apiece until Kennesaw scored three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings. The Bisons had two players, juniors Grant Massey and Ian Martinez-McGraw, earn All-Tournament honors. Seniors Drew Adams, Jacob Knott, Conor Moynihan, Nick Rome, Chad Shannon and Weston Wolfe all played in their final game as a Bison. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...

Bisons advance to A-Sun Championship with win over Florida Gulf Coast

The Lipscomb baseball team advances to the 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship Sunday after beating No. 1 Florida Gulf Coast University in two games Saturday.  The Bisons had to play two games against Florida Gulf Coast at FGCU’s Swanson Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. Lipscomb lost the first one 10-5. Gulf Coast’s bats came out hot. They scored three in the first and four in the second. Lipscomb junior infielder Grant Massey and junior pitcher/infielder Tyson Ashcraft both had two hits in game one. Ashcraft, freshman infielder Hunter Hanks, redshirt sophomore outfielder Josh Lee, senior catcher Nick Rome and redshirt freshman catcher Tyler Bethune each had one RBI. In game two, Lipscomb’s bats came alive. The Bisons beat Gulf Coast 11-4. Lee, Massey and senior outfielder Drew Adams had three hits apiece.  Rome and Adams each had three RBIs. Junior pitcher Ian Martinez-McGraw threw a compete game.  He gave up four runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts. Lipscomb will need to beat No. 3 Kennesaw State twice on Sunday to take home the championship. The first game will begin at 12 and will air on ESPN3. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...

Bisons defeat Jacksonville on extra inning walk-off in A-Sun tourney

Freshman infielder Hunter Hanks hit a walk-off single to give Lipscomb a 2-1 win over Jacksonville in the Atlantic Sun tournament in Fort Myers, Fla. The Bisons won in the 10th inning. Junior infielder Grant Massey led off the 10th with a single to left field. Junior outfielder Jonathon Allison bunted Massey over to second, followed by a Hanks single through the left side to score Massey. Lipscomb scored one run in the third. Allison tripled to right field. Senior outfielder Drew Adams singled to score Allison to give the Bisons the 1-0 lead. Jacksonville scored their solo run in the ninth. Lipscomb will face top-ranked Florida Gulf Coast Thursday night at 6:15. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...

Lipscomb baseball heads to A-Sun Tournament with series win over Florida Gulf Coast

The Lipscomb baseball team ended their season with a three-game home stand against the first place team in the Atlantic Sun, Florida Gulf Coast. With the number one seed in the Atlantic Sun Tournament in sight, the Bisons won their first game against Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday 11-6, keeping their hopes alive for one more day. Junior center fielder Jonathan Allison led Lipscomb with three hits in the game. Junior left fielder Josh Lee was one of many Bisons with two hits during the explosive offensive outing. Due to expected inclement weather on Saturday, the Bisons and Eagles played a doubleheader on Friday. Needing to win twice to have a shot at first place in the conference, Lipscomb split the games, dropping the first game 3-2 and winning the second match-up 7-1 to take the series. Junior shortstop Grant Massey led the Bisons in the first outing by batting 2 for 4, while junior designated hitter Griffin Moore paced Lipscomb by going 3 for 4 and belting a home run in the second game. The two victories helped to solidify the Bisons’ fourth place finish for the season in the Atlantic Sun, a position which matches them up against fifth place Jacksonville (13-13 conference record, 20-31 overall record) in the opening game of the A-Sun Tournament. Lipscomb defeated Jacksonville at Dugan Field in two out of the three games that they played in March. Lipscomb heads into the tournament with a 17-10 conference record and a 30-26 overall record, both big improvements on the 2012-13 season. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...

Bison baseball tops the conference with series win over Mercer

The Lipscomb Bisons baseball team took the series over the Mercer Bears this weekend and now sits in first place in the Atlantic Sun conference. After a rain delay on Friday, Lipscomb came out on top 4-2.    Mercer struck first with a solo home run by Sasha LaGarde but the Bisons punched back and were winning 2-1 after three innings.   Head Coach Jeff Forehand told Lipscomb Athletics that Friday’s game was just a good game between two good teams.     “Luckily for us we got some fortunate hits and scored when we had runners in scoring position,” Forehand said. “They made a mistake that gave us one run but it was just a good ball game all the way around.”   Saturday’s game resulted in a 2-1 victory for the Bisons to give them the series win. Junior John Allison earned a lead-off walk in first inning and would later score on a sacrifice fly from senior Drew Adams. Junior Grant Massey would also score in the first inning capping off the scoring for the Bisons for the rest of the game.   “It was a great first inning,” Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand said. “Drew and [Austin] Sistrunk had a couple of clutch, situational at-bats for us to get those runs on the board early. But we have to give Mercer credit because they pitched really well after that point to hold us in check. Both teams made some big plays throughout the game, but we were able to hold on for the win.”   Redshirt junior pitcher Hunter Brothers got the win giving up one run...