This week in sports, April 5-11

This week in sports, April 5-11

The past week was successful for the Lipscomb athletic teams. The baseball team won its weekend series with Kennesaw State 2-1.  Josh Smith and Davey Hackett were the winning pitchers on Saturday and Sunday.  You can see the box scores here.  Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 The Bisons dropped two games earlier in the week to Tennessee Tech.  The Bisons record now stands at 12-21 overall and 4-5 in the Atlantic Sun. The Lady Bison softball team went 4-2 over the past week, winning games against TSU, Kennesaw State, and Mercer.  Lipscomb lost one game each to Kennesaw and Mercer.  The two losses were the teams first conference losses.  The teams record is now 33-9 overall and 10-2 in the Atlantic Sun.  The game story for the TSU games can be read here. Whitney Kiihnl was also named Atlantic Sun player of the week for the fourth time this past week.  The press release can be read here. The golf team finished 24th in the Bluegrass Invitational this weekend in Kentucky.  Brandon Farmer lead all Lipscomb golfers with a 29th place finish for the weekend. The men’s and women’s tennis teams dropped matches against Belmont this week.  The men lost 4-3 and the women 5-2. In basketball news, Junior forward Adnan Hodzic declared for the NBA draft on Thursday.  Hodzic finished second in the nation in scoring with 22.7 points.  Hodzic did not hire an agent, therefore he has until May 8 to withdraw his name from the draft.  Upon declaring for the draft, Hodzic will have the opportunity to work out for various NBA teams.  Adnan was also named an...

Lady Bisons overpower TSU in doubleheader

Returning home after a streak of away games, the Lady Bisons faced off against Tennessee State University on Wednesday, April 7 at Lipscomb’s Draper Diamond. Overpowering TSU in both games with scores of 11-2 and 3-0, the double victory advances the Lady Bison’s overall record to 31-7. Game 1: The Lady Bisons opened game one with a dominant first inning.  Sophomore all-star pitcher, Whitney Kiihnl, put the pressure on TSU early, backing up her title as No. 1 ranked pitcher in the NCAA in hits allowed per seven innings (2.04). When the Lady Bisons got up to bat, they put a string of hits together, earning over half of their total runs in the first inning alone. Senior Abby Keese sent her first of two home runs for the night sailing into the parking lot, bringing in junior Mackenzie Tucker, who got on base with a double, to put the Lady Bisons on the board 2-0. Keese leads the Atlantic Sun conference in batting with an average of .400. Sophomore Courtney Billington followed up Keese’s home run with a single.  Shortly after Billington’s single, senior Christen Campbell smashed another home run for the Lady Bisons, bringing in Billington and upping Lipscomb’s lead to 4-0. However, with only two outs,the Lady Bisons were not finished yet. After being walked by TSU’s pitcher, Sophomore Mollie Mitchell stole home to add another run to the Lady Bisons lead.  Freshman Breanna Thurman also scored on an RBI by Kiihnl. The Lady Bisons entered the second inning with a 6-0 lead over TSU. The score remained the same during the second inning and into...

Lady Bisons Tennis Team suffers tough loss in Battle of the Boulevard

The Lady Bisons suffered a tough loss against Atlantic Sun rival, Belmont University, in the infamous Battle of the Boulevard on Tuesday, April 6. Although the final score says 5-2, the score does not accurately depict the match. The air is always thick when Lipscomb and Belmont compete head to head.  Tuesday was no exception when both teams stepped onto the courts at Belmont’s Davis Tennis Complex. At the start of the match, both teams held 0-9 conference records.  Needless to say, the teams were equally matched. As doubles play began, the Lady Bisons made a strong statement by taking an early lead over Belmont.  Lipscomb secured wins at both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, allowing them to clinch the doubles point and capture a 1-0 lead over the Bruins. Freshman Mackenzie Bishop and sophomore Elizabeth Keevil downed Abby Leatherwood and Laura Stack by a score of 8-4 at the No. 1 spot. At the No. 2 position, junior Kara Jackson and sophomore Danielle Hansen overpowered Belmont’s Abigail Hogan and Natalia Nunes 8-2. Lipscomb’s lone doubles loss came at No. 3.  Junior Julianne McMeen and freshman Carlina Jow were defeated by Lindsay Bennett and Lauren Irick 8-1. With a confident 1-0 lead, the Lady Bisons entered into singles play. Evening the score to 1-1, Bishop came off court first for the Bisons at No. 1.  Facing Belmont’s A-Sun honoree for the 2008-2009 season, Bishop played a tight first set.  After taking a 3-0 lead, Bishop fell to 6-6.  Bishop lost in the first set tiebreaker 7-5.  Leatherwood upped her game in the second set, giving the Bruins the...

Men’s Tennis falls short 4-3 in Battle of the Boulevard

The Bisons faced Atlantic Sun rival, Belmont University, in the heated Battle of the Boulevard on Tuesday, April 6 at Belmont’s Davis Tennis Complex. As always, the tension rose as the two teams began the face off. The Bisons took an early lead when they clinched the doubles point, winning No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Daniel Hangstefer and Joe McArdle secured a win at No. 1, defeating Renato Antun and Rafael Matos 8-6. The Bisons lost their only doubles match at the No. 2 spot.  Chad Pierron and Tanner Brown were defeated by Joao Paolielli and Filipe Cirne Lima 8-6. Mario Hernandez and Colby Shaw picked up another win at No. 3 to give the Bisons the doubles point.  The duo beat Belmont’s Bruno Silva and Jonathan Murrell in a close tiebreaker, prevailing 9-8. With the doubles point under their belt, the Bisons took a 1-0 over the Bruins. Hangstefer earned another win for the Bisons with his victory at No. 1 singles.  Hangstefer defeated Paolielli 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 in a three set battle. The Bruins fought back with a win at No. 2.  Pierron was defeated by the Belmont’s Antun 6-2, 6-3, bringing the match score to 2-1. The score was evened at 2-2 when Lipscomb fell at the No. 3 spot.  Hernandez fell to Amaral in a close three set match, losing 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. The Bisons battled back to take the lead once again, securing their third win at No. 4.  Shaw easily glided past Lima, defeating him 6-2, 6-4. Once again, Belmont matched Lipscomb, taking a win at No. 5 to even the match...
Kiihnl earns A-Sun Player of Week award for fourth time

Kiihnl earns A-Sun Player of Week award for fourth time

Sophomore pitcher Whitney Kiihnl was named Atlantic Sun Player of the Week on Monday. MACON, Ga. – USC Upstate’s Crislyn Chewning earned her first A-Sun Softball Player of the Week accolade after a tremendous week in which she lead USC Upstate at the plate with a .589 batting average, while Lipscomb’s Whitney Kiihnl tallied her fifth career A-Sun Softball Pitcher of the Week honor and fourth on the season after recording three shutouts against UNF, Jacksonville and Western Kentucky. Chewning collected three triples in six games and recorded four multi-hit games in six outings last week, including three-hit contests against A-Sun foes FGCU and Stetson. The Willamina, Ore. native posted four hits and four RBIs in the doubleheader sweep at Gardner-Webb and had three hits, two runs and a RBI in second game against FGCU. Chewning also collected three hits with a double and a triple in the 7-2 victory versus Stetson, in addition to two runs and a RBI. The senior center fielder recorded USC Upstate’s only hit in the second game against the Hatters. In addition to Kiihnl’s three shutouts, 4-0 at Western Kentucky Tuesday, 4-0 at Jacksonville Friday, 3-0 at UNF Saturday, the sophomore pitcher surrendered a total of seven hits and struck out 28. Kiihnl owns a total of nine games this season with double-digit strikeouts, including 11 against the Ospreys and 10 against the Hilltoppers in the past week. The Batesville, Miss. native threw a one-hitter against Jacksonville, barely missing her fifth no-hitter of the season, and allowed two hits against Western Kentucky. Kiihnl owns a 19-2 record for the season and holds shutouts...