by Erika Plunkett | May 9, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
After sweeping FGCU and laying claim to the ASUN regular season title last weekend, reigning ASUN pitcher of the week, senior Mandy Jordan leads her Lady Bisons back to Ft. Myers for the 2019 ASUN Softball Tournament. In Thursday’s doubleheader, seniors Jenna Pealor and Graysen Gladden and juniors Hannah Devault and Peyton Ward batted in four runs. Errors by the Eagles allowed two more Bisons to score. Jordan was the player of the night as she pitched all seven innings in the first game shutout and got the save in the 4-2 game two win, allowing zero runs and only two hits. Although the Bisons clinched a bye in the ASUN tournament with Thursday’s victories, it was Friday’s win that proved all-important, giving the Bisons their first regular-season ASUN title since 2010. Jordan once again was the hero, pitching the entire game that went into extra innings. This was her second shutout of the series as the Bisons came away with a 1-0 victory over FGCU off of a DeVault RBI in the 10th inning, edging out Liberty for the top-seed in the ASUN tournament. Not only are the Lady Bisons the regular-season champions, but the ASUN named coach Kristin Ryman and DeVault the ASUN Coach of the Year and the ASUN Player of the Year respectively. DeVault also was honored with the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year award. In addition, senior Sarah Higgins, DeVault and Gladden represented Lipscomb on the ASUN’s all-conference first team, while Jordan and senior Jordan Fortel were named to the ASUN’s all-conference second team. Freshman Amy Vetula and freshman Katie Turner received...
by Charissa Ricker | May 1, 2019 | News Slider, Sports, Student Spotlight
Jordan Fortel is no stranger to overcoming obstacles in her softball career, but despite her unconventional journey to Lipscomb and her recent injuries, she continues to pull through for her team as both a hitter and pitcher. Fortel is halfway through her senior season at Lipscomb and is leading the team in multiple-hit games, hitting streaks and a reached base streak of 35. “This season has been great so far,” Fortel said. “I think we’ve gotten off to a really great start, and I’m excited to see where we go from here.” Her college softball career has been nothing shy of success. She was named 2017 TCCAA Pitcher of the Year and D1 Softball and ASUN Pitcher of the week for her no-hitter game against Ole Miss last year. She has quickly become a key player for the team, but she hasn’t always been a Bison. “Lipscomb is actually the third school that I’ve attended,” Fortel said.” I’ve only been here since last year when I transferred. I kind of had some connections here, and it just worked out. It’s been a good journey.” After attending the University of Tennessee Chattanooga for a year, Fortel moved closer to her home in Greenville to attend Walter State. “I was led by the Lord to leave UTC, and it just wasn’t working out,” Fortel said. “I’ve ended up in a lot better situations.” She grew up playing travel softball with junior Hannah Duvalt, and with only one year of eligibility at Walter State, Fortel made the move to Lipscomb. “This community is just so much different than communities I’ve been a...
by Martin Baker | Apr 1, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb’s softball team showcased its talents on the mound and over the plate in a 13-0 victory over UNF on Sunday to clinch the weekend series 2-1. The two teams split the doubleheader on Saturday, with UNF taking game one 8-6 and Lipscomb taking game two 3-1 thanks to a three-run homer from Jenna Pealor in the sixth inning. Lipscomb is now 23-12-1 (3-3 ASUN). North Florida drops to 20-12 (3-3 ASUN). Saturday’s second game marked the first win of the season from the mound for junior Chloe Yeager. “She’s finally back to old Chloe, which is huge,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. She followed up the win on Saturday with another on Sunday in a standout performance where she gave up only one hit, walked only one batter and struck out three in the five innings available before the game was ended due to the run rule. The Lipscomb offense started off Sunday’s game strong and appeared to have solved the scoring issues it faced in Saturday’s second game. Hannah DeVault and Pealor shared 5 RBIs in the first two innings, with a sixth coming from Sarah Higgins. “We just really attacked the ball and attacked good pitches from the get-go today,” Ryman said. “We created a little bit of havoc today on the bases, too, with quite a few stolen bases and were able to get a lot of runners in scoring position for those girls in the middle of the order.” The Bisons followed up two strong innings with seven more runs in the third. Although the big hits from DeVault and Pealor put the runs...
by Martin Baker | Mar 15, 2019 | News Slider, Sports, Student Spotlight
Whether she’s pitching from the softball mound or spiking the ball on the volleyball court, Lipscomb’s Chloe Rogers feels right at home as part of a team. “Just relax, play the game, you’ve played it your whole life, just have fun with it,” Rogers told herself as she joined the Lipscomb softball team last spring after finishing her senior season playing for the Lipscomb volleyball team. Rogers came to Lipscomb from Overland Park, Kansas, where she played volleyball and softball for Blue Valley High School as well as travel club teams. Her love for each sport started early thanks to both her parents, Jennifer and Richard Rogers, who also played college sports. Her mother played volleyball, and her father played baseball. When college came around, however, Chloe had to choose one or the other. “I was super undecided going into the college recruiting process. I loved both the same,” Rogers said. “So recruiting came around, and I was getting more interest for volleyball; and I think that kind of helped with the recruiting process because it seemed more appealing when people were after you.” Volleyball won in the end, and she became a Bison under head coach Brandon Rosenthal. At the time, she thought that would be the last time she would play competitive softball, and she knew she would miss it. “I made the right decision,” Rogers said. “I love volleyball, and if I had to do it again, I’d do it the exact same way; but it is kind of like leaving a little part of you behind.” Chloe would get her chance to play again after...
by Chad Johnson | Apr 13, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
It was almost a perfect conclusion to an already special weekend for the Lipscomb softball team — almost. After winning the first two games of the three-game conference series on Saturday, the Lady Bisons were upended by the North Florida Ospreys 7-6 on Sunday afternoon at Draper Diamond at Smith Field. Despite a late rally in the sixth and seventh innings, the Lady Bisons came up short in the end of the last game. “We did a good job late in the game with runners on, but not early in the game,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “It stinks that six runs is not enough. I think we should have capitalized on some things earlier in the game but we didn’t.” Lipscomb had no problem getting on base, as they recorded nine hits total, but couldn’t quite finish the job when they needed to. “We can’t leave bases loaded twice in the first five innings,” Ryman said. “That was a killer.” Despite the loss on Sunday, Ryman was optimistic about the two wins on Saturday. “We’re at the point of the season where every game matters,” Ryman said. “That is a positive takeaway.” The Lady Bisons were led offensively by senior Paige Neely and freshman Abby Fenichel who each had three hits while junior Baylee Williams added two of her own. Williams and junior Brittany Elmore also led the way with two RBI’s a piece. In the circle, junior Kelly Young was accredited with the loss. She gave up six runs on five hits while striking out seven. On Saturday afternoon, the ending was different in both games. Senior Gracey Aguirre bolted a solo homer over the left-center...
