by Erika Plunkett | Jun 13, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Former Lipscomb pitcher Chris Kachmar was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 28th round of the Major League draft. The right-hander, who finished his senior campaign with a record of 9-3 and a 3.61 era, was a first-team all-conference selection in the ASUN. He also earned ASUN pitcher of the week awards in two consecutive weeks at the end of the regular season for his performances against North Florida and Liberty. “I think the thing that stands out to everybody about Chris is just his work ethic and how much he has improved since we got him,” said Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand. “He and our pitching coach, James Ogden, have worked really hard. It’s both of them, but it’s Chris’s work ethic and discipline to be the best that he can be that put him in that position to make all-conference this year and for the Cubs to recognize him as a draft pick.” Kachmar, from East Greenville, Pennsylvania, transferred before the 2017-18 season to Lipscomb from Palm Beach State College. At Palm Beach he compiled an earned run average of 3.79 as a sophomore. At Lipscomb in his junior year, Kachmar was able to step in and provide an immediate impact, but his season was cut short due to an injury. “He finished last May pretty much unable to pitch, so he went home for a few weeks, let that rest, came back, enrolled in summer classes and just started training and rehabbing his bad back,” Forehand said. “He got better, and he just continued to look forward every day to those 15 or 16 starts that...
by Charissa Ricker | Apr 17, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb baseball team beat the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 12-10 Tuesday night in a nail-biting game at Dugan Field. Middle Tennessee (15-22, 9-6 C-USA) started the game with two runs in the top of the first, but the Bisons (19-17, 3-6 ASUN) quickly took the lead in the bottom of the second. David Graves tripled to right center, sending Josh Martinez to score. Brian Moore hit a home run afterward, sending Graves home and giving Lipscomb the edge to start third inning, 3-2. Lipscomb’s lead didn’t last long, as Middle Tennessee scored five runs in the top of the third. However, the Bisons lessened the gap to 7-5 as Graves hit a double in the bottom of the third inning, sending Cade Sorrells home, later followed by Chris Bashlor. The fourth and fifth innings were scoreless for the Bisons with Middle Tennessee scoring two runs in the top of the fourth, but the Bisons recovered and scored four runs at the bottom of the sixth, tying up the game 9-9. In the bottom of the seventh the Bisons took the lead 11-9 after three scoreless innings for Middle Tennessee. While the Blue Raiders tried to make a comeback at the top of the eighth with one run, they struck out, leaving Lipscomb the chance to score once more before the ninth inning. Despite the Blue Raiders’ strong lead in the third inning, Lipscomb was able to gain some momentum that led to the win. “When Max Habegger came in in the fifth inning, he gave us three scoreless innings,” Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand said. “When he came in,...
by Tyler Harvey | Apr 11, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb baseball played the Kentucky Wildcats Wednesday night at Dugan Field in a game that came down to a tough fielding play and a rough eighth inning for the Bisons. A popup just beyond the infield in the fifth inning got lost in the lights and ended up bringing in two runs for the Wildcats. Then in the eighth inning, Kentucky was able to score four runs, all with two outs. Coming into the game The Bisons came into the game off a tough road trip that started with ASUN conference foe Florida Gulf Coast, who swept the Bisons in a three-game series, and ended in Knoxville where the Volunteers hit seven home runs to defeat Lipscomb 11- 2. Kentucky also came into the game on a rough stretch that had seen them lose seven of their past 10 games after starting their season with a 14-8 record. Senior Erik Gutierrez made his second start of the season for the Bisons on the mound, while Kentucky put forward freshman starting pitcher Dillon Marsh. Both starting pitchers have begun the season with rough stat lines. Gutierrez came in having pitched 10 innings on the season and earning a 4.50 era, while Marsh had pitched 24 innings and earned a 6.75 era. The Game Both pitchers might have finally gotten their season on the right track with their starts Wednesday night. Gutierrez got through the first four innings of the game not giving up any runs and only allowing two hits and one walk to the Wildcats. Marsh allowed more baserunners than Gutierrez through four innings, giving up four hits to...
by Martin Baker | Feb 26, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
A long, wet weekend saw cancellations for the Lipscomb baseball team on Friday and Saturday, but the rain was followed by clearer skies and a doubleheader against Western Michigan on Sunday at Ken Dugan Field. “There’s gonna be wind, there’s gonna be sun, there’s gonna be [a] rain delay,” Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand said. “There’s gonna be some factor in every game, and if we’re not ready to adjust to that, we’re gonna find ourselves behind the eight-ball in a lot of games.” Both games were high-scoring, but the first game ended in Western Michigan’s favor with a final tally of 17-5. The Bisons were down 12-0 going into the fourth inning. “You just don’t say anything,” Forehand said. “We had a conversation last week, and we feel like our offense is good enough that we can come back from any deficit.” The Bisons were able to put some runs on the board in the later innings, but it would be too little, too late. This would be the Broncos’ first win of the season, making their record 1-5. “You might think you come out in that game, and you give up 15 runs, that we weren’t ready to play,” Forehand said. “We were ready to play. They just played really well.” Cancellations and a hefty defeat in the first game didn’t shake the confidence the Lipscomb coaching staff had in its initial plans for these games. “We had it kind of scripted on what we were gonna do for both of these games,” Forehand said. “Right now, early in the season, we’re really trying to get as many...
by Tyler Harvey | Feb 20, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
No scoreboard, no music, and no P.A. system: that’s how the Lipscomb baseball team played its game against Western Kentucky thanks to the power being out on campus Tuesday. However, the atmosphere of the game didn’t stop Lipscomb freshman starting pitcher Tyler Guilfoil from tossing a scoreless outing in the first game of his career, putting the Bisons in position for a 3-1 win at Ken Dugan Field. Guilfoil limited the Hilltoppers to only one hit and one walk to go with nine strikeouts in five innings pitched. “For [his] first time out there, you can’t [ask for] any more than that,” Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand said. The Atmosphere The atmosphere was reminiscent of a little league game or a game being played in the early days of baseball before electricity. The only sounds were the bats hitting the ball, the ball hitting the gloves and the cheers of the crowd. The only people who really knew the score the entire game were the players on the field and the people in the press box, since the scoreboard was among the things not working due to the power outage. “I think we get spoiled having the music and the scoreboard and all the amenities going on sometimes,” Coach Forehand said. “It affected the game, but not enough to where we couldn’t play the game.” The game was also cold, and the temperature stayed in the upper 30s and low 40s. The Game Both starting pitchers were making their collegiate debuts. Guilfoil started his Lipscomb career on the right note by retiring the first seven hitters he faced. WKU’s freshman...
