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...
by Erika Thornsberry | Mar 1, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
The Buckeye State just couldn’t handle the Lipscomb Bisons softball team in the Courtyard by Marriott-Brentwood Purple and Gold Challenge this weekend at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. After struggling the previous weekend, Lipscomb proved they could face adversity head on and make changes that need to be made. Lipscomb took the field on Saturday morning beating Akron 3-2. In the circle, junior Tanner Sanders had a personal game high with 10 strike-outs. Akron’s pitcher Erin Seller received the loss, making that her second of eight decisions for the year. With a total of three stolen bases, junior Brittany Elmore set a new personal single-game high and a team individual high. The team had a total of five stolen bases, with senior Gracey Aguirre and freshman Abby Fenichel both contributing. “My job on the offensive end is to get on base,” Elmore said. “While I’m on base it’s to put myself in the best position for my team to score me. Stealing bases is part of the process. I’m happy that I can contribute to my team in that way. I always push myself to do more to help the team in any way possible.” Later in the day, Lipscomb faced Dayton, keeping them scoreless. The Bisons finished the game up with a 3-0 win over the Flyers. The records continued to stack up for the Bisons as junior Kelly Young pitched her way to the win by striking out 11, making a new personal and team game high. Elmore, Aguirre and junior Dee Baddley helped Young in the circle, each having a double. Senior Laura Dukes and Elmore’s bat stayed hot...
by Erika Thornsberry | Feb 8, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons softballl team walked away from the Music City Classic with three wins, but lost 14-2 in the final game this weekend at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. In the first game, the Lady Bisons had a 7-1 victory against the University of Missouri–Kansas City. The team took two more wins in the following games, with 8-0 and 9-1. The whole infield is a completely new team except for two players, senior Paige Neely and sophomore Mimi Cartwright, but it didn’t take long to notice the new players. In the first three games, the Lady Bisons had a total of seven home runs, seven doubles and Neely had an impressive batting average of .778. Freshman Abby Fenichel powered two balls over the fence in her first college game, recording three home runs for the weekend. Senior Brianne Welch kept the streak alive with two home runs for the weekend. Senior Gracey Aguirre and freshman Caitlin Plocheck were big power hitters and also contributed with their own home runs. “It helps when you are in a positive environment and when everyone else around you is hitting good,” Fenichel said. “I have been struggling in practice so I just came out there, tried to forget about that and clear my mind, and it just ended up going my way.” Junior pitcher Tanner Sanders took the 7-1 win against UMKC, only giving up one run. Junior Kelly Young pitched a no-hitter against IUPUI with a score of 8-0. The game against IUPUI made for Coach Kristin Ryman’s 300th career win. Her 300th win was a short one, as the Lady Bisons took the...
by Erika Thornsberry | Apr 28, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
Senior night is always a special time for a team, but for Lipscomb’s softball team it was that much sweeter. Having a senior-led team, the women celebrated seven of their 20 players. Pitchers Ashley Anderson and Heather Parker, catcher Rena’ Cothron, shortstop Bridgette Begle, first basemen Kristen Sturdivant, right fielder Kelsey Cartwright and designated hitter Haley Elliot make up the senior class. “The standards are high, and the bar was raised for this team this year,” head coach Kristin Ryman said. “We have played so well this year.” The Lady Bisons took the sweep against Northern Kentucky this past weekend. They won the first game in a run-rule fashion 10-0, the second game 6-0 and on senior night won 6-3. This series may have been the seniors’ last, but it had a lot of firsts for them. Anderson was the winning pitcher in game one pitching her first no- hitter in her college career. “I wasn’t even paying attention; I didn’t even know until after the game because I was just thinking about how well we were hitting,” Anderson said. Begle hit her first grand-slam in her career with two outs in the fourth inning. Also in game one Heather Parker got her first hit of the season. “The seniors are a really special group. There’s not too many classes that are that big that you can say every single one of them are a key contributor to the team,” Ryman said. “They are a very unique group, five of them have been together for the long haul, and then we added Kelsey Cartwright and Heather Parker who transferred...
