by Russell Vannozzi | Feb 12, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Former Lipscomb pitcher Chris Nunn thought his professional baseball career was over on multiple occasions. He was released by San Diego, Milwaukee and Houston. He left the game in 2016 to pursue an MBA at Lipscomb. He nearly lost vision in his right eye after taking an elbow to the face in a pickup basketball game. And, recently, he had to deal with his mother’s breast cancer diagnosis. But on Jan. 28, the 28-year-old inked a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers, who project him to begin the season with Triple-A Nashville – a two-mile drive from his apartment in The Gulch. How did Nunn get here? And how, after all this time, is he back within striking distance of a life-long dream that seemed to be long lost? It took a change in his mindset and workout philosophy, an increase in pitch velocity and a little help from Twitter. Heating up in January It’s a 35-degree January day in Nashville, and Nunn is scrambling to get a quick bullpen session in at Lipscomb’s Ken Dugan Field, a place that “feels like home” to him. He’s working against the clock, because his former college team will be using the field that afternoon. Lipscomb pitching coach James Ogden lets Nunn use the team’s facilities provided that the current players take precedence. The hurler grabs Lipscomb junior Jarrett O’Leary to be his catcher, only to find out that the radar gun in the bullpen needs a new battery. Odgen promptly fixes that issue to bring Nunn’s workout to life. This isn’t supposed to be any type of show. Nunn is...
by Carly Reams | Jan 19, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Expect a tough schedule ahead for the Lipscomb baseball team — but with a much healthier roster to start the season. The 2019 season is just around the corner for the Bisons as they prepare for their first matchup against Valparaiso University on Feb. 15 in an opening home weekend series at Dugan Field. Head coach Jeff Forehand’s unit is coming off of a losing season but brings back a roster full of experienced players. Unfortunately, the Bisons dealt with a plague of injuries last year. “For last year’s season, it started on the mound,” pitching coach James Ogden said. “And then guys like Lee Solomon and even Jeffrey Crisan had to miss a significant amount of time; and then, those were staples of our team that had been around a long time.” This problem has been mostly corrected for the 2019 season, as Ogden says the team realizes getting everyone healthy is something they definitely need to correct. They have done so in some of their training and in therapy and rehabilitation. Almost everyone is ready to play minus a few sprains and tendonitis. And they need to be healthy. This season will be one of the highest RPI schedules when ranked against those prior, with more Power 5 opponents and teams that ranked in the RPI’s top 100. Lipscomb has a much tougher schedule, but Forehand explains that this is all by design. “The ASUN league is a very good league coming off of last year’s season, the seventh-best league in the country,” Forehand said. “So, every team in the league is playing those RPI games. That’s...
by Russell Vannozzi | Dec 25, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
Jeffrey Passantino spent his minor league baseball season living out of a suitcase. In a span of three months, he moved from Arizona to Indiana to Oregon and, finally, back to Indiana. “One side is dirty, one side is clean,” he said of the makeshift dresser on wheels. His former Lipscomb teammates Brady Puckett and Lee Solomon had more stable living situations, at least by minor league standards. Puckett was with the Greensboro (N.C.) Grasshoppers for one month before he was promoted to the Jupiter (Fla.) Hammerheads, while Solomon headed west to Peoria, Arizona, after being selected by the San Diego Padres in June’s MLB Amateur Draft. “There are no complaints whatsoever,” Puckett said. “It was really hot [in Florida], and I sweated through like three shirts every day, but I had a good time.” All three players had standout seasons and are now one step closer to becoming Lipscomb’s next crop of talent to reach the big leagues – a group that includes Caleb Joseph, Rex Brothers and Josh Smith. Cheap hotels, long bus rides and fast-food meals aside, each of the former Bisons said they are thrilled to be chasing a dream that so few are afforded. “It’s hard to beat,” Solomon said of minor league life. “Our manager is always reminding us that we’re making money by hitting batting practice and taking ground balls instead of living in an office.” Passantino logged the most miles of the trio this season. He began the year in the Chicago Cubs’ extended Spring Training, but he was added to the Class-A South Bend Cubs for 10 days in June....
by Russell Vannozzi | Sep 24, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
Another baseball season has nearly come and gone. For Lipscomb’s nine former players in the professional ranks, 2018 was a mixed bag. Several players had outstanding seasons, while others struggled to stay healthy and find consistency. Caleb Joseph appeared in a few MLB games with his younger brother, while Michael Gigliotti tore his ACL and missed nearly the entire season. Meanwhile, Chris Nunn found success in the independent American Association after being released by the Houston Astros. Those are just a few of the storylines that can be found in the full breakdown below: MLB (1): Caleb Joseph, C, Baltimore Orioles: 77 GP, 251 AB, 25 R, 54 H, 17 RBI, 3 HR, 10 BB, .215 AVG* After batting .256 in 2017, Joseph’s performance at the plate regressed some this season. He spent one month with Triple-A Norfolk to get more regular playing time, but the Orioles brought Joseph back to Baltimore in June. The Franklin native then got the rare opportunity to pair with his younger brother, Corban, who briefly called up by the Orioles this summer. They are just one of nearly 100 sets of brothers to became MLB teammates. Baltimore (45-110) is set to finish with the worst record in baseball. Joseph has been outspoken about the team’s struggles and told The Athletic’s Dan Connolly that he understands why Camden Yards is mostly empty on game nights. “I don’t blame (the fans) at all,” Joseph said of the Oriole faithful. “I’ve been through really bad seasons in professional sports as a fan in Nashville. It’s not motivating. Of course, I don’t blame them at all (for not...
by Charlie Bateman | May 31, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb baseball watched its season come to a close after losing to No. 18 Radford 5-2 in a NCAA Regional elimination game on Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Field. Radford scored runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings. The largest number of runs came in the sixth inning, in which Radford scored three from an error, sacrifice fly and home run. During the middle of the sixth inning, the game was delayed by rain for over an hour — something the Bisons have seen a lot of this year. “We have been through so many weather delays this year, that the stoppage in play did not bother us,” senior Grant Massey said. “We actually felt at the time that it was an advantage to forget about what happened in the top of the sixth.” Teammates echoed Massey, saying the delay would help them get in the right mindset to come up with a big rally in the later innings. But Lipscomb still had trouble getting to Radford’s relievers. “I have to give credit to all their pitchers including their reliever and closer,” Lipscomb head coach Jeff Forehand said. “They had pitchers that were very precise and made the big plays when they needed to.” The only runs for Lipscomb came from a two-run homer from senior Josh Lee. This was the only home run Lee had on the entire season. Lee, who played for Vanderbilt as a freshman before transferring to Central Arizona Community College, said it was odd to hit his only home run of the season at the field where his collegiate career began. “[It was] definitely a full-circle experience...
