Lady Bisons softball team wins three, loses final game in Music City Classic

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...

The Postgame: July Lipscomb sports roundup

With July, and the summer as a whole, almost in the books, The Postgame is here to gather all of the Lipscomb sports news from the past month. Lipscomb Track and Field: To cap off his freshman season, Phillip Smith competed at the USA Junior Track and Field National Championships on July 6 in Eugene, Oregon. Smith finished seventh overall in the triple jump competition. The recently graduated Tessa Hoefle added another honor to her achievements list after being named to the Capital One Academic All-American First Team. Hoefle owned a 4.0 GPA and won three A-Sun Scholar Athlete of the Year awards. As an overall squad, the Women’s Track and Field team ranks second overall in the nation for GPA. The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced that the team’s 3.61 GPA was good enough for second overall in the country. Lipscomb Softball: Rising junior Tanner Sanders pitched for the Central Virginia All-Stars. The team faced off against Team USA hopefuls in a pair of exhibition games in Lynchburg, Virginia. Sanders gave up five hits in six innings work during the two games. Kasey Gibson, a rising sophomore, got her own chance to play against elite competition. Gibson suited up for the Indiana Slammers, a team made up of college softball players from the Indiana area. The Slammers were able to play against the Netherlands National Women’s Softball Team in July, losing 6-5. Lipscomb Golf: Incoming freshman, and former Lipscomb Academy student-athlete, Dawson Armstrong qualified for the 2014 USGA Amateur Championship. During the USGA National Qualifier Event in Louisville, Armstrong broke the course record...

Lady Bisons win two Saturday, advance to NCAA Regional Final

The Lipscomb softball team won two games on Saturday to advance to the final day of the NCAA Knoxville Regional on the University of Tennessee’s campus. The Lady Bisons will have to beat the Tennessee Lady Vols twice on Sunday to advance to a super regional. Lipscomb eliminated Charleston Southern in the first game on Saturday. Freshman infielder Mimi Cartwright doubled to score sophomore infielder Brittany Elmore to give the Lady Bisons a 1-0 lead after the first inning. Elmore scored on junior infielder Paige Neely’s single up the middle. Lady Bisons had a 2-0 lead in the sixth. Charleston Southern tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom on the sixth. Lipscomb would strike again in the seventh off a solo homerun from senior infielder Kristen Sturdivant. Pinch runner Jordan Abell scored on freshman outfielder Dee Baddley’s single to give the Lady Bisons the 4-2 lead. Charleston Southern failed to score in the bottom of the seventh. Senior pitcher Ashley Anderson picked up her 20th win giving up six hits while striking out four. Lipscomb had a rematch against Virginia Tech in game two on Saturday. The Lady Bisons bats did not disappoint. Lipscomb recorded 12 hits and scored 12 runs. Senior infielder Haley Elliot hit two homeruns and had six RBIs. Junior outfielder Brianne Welch had a triple and an RBI. Senior infielder Bridgette Begle recorded a three hit game with an RBI. Elmore and Neely both had two hits. Elmore earned two RBIs. Virginia Tech scored three runs. Lipscomb sophomore pitcher Tanner Sanders went the distance for Lipscomb giving up seven hits with one strikeout. The...

Lady Bisons softball team eliminated from A-Sun Softball Championship, awaiting possible NCAA tourney bid

The Lipscomb Lady Bisons softball team was eliminated from the Atlantic Sun Softball Championship Thursday evening at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. The 3-0 loss to USC Upstate that ended the tourney for the Lady Bisons was the end of a scoreless day for the home team. Earlier Thursday, the Lady Bisons lost their first game of the tournament to the Stetson Hatters 2-0. That struggle began with senior pitcher Ashley Anderson walking in a run in the first inning. The Lady Bisons had a chance to answer when junior infielder Paige Neely got a single in the bottom of the inning but was left stranded. The next runner to cross the plate did not come until the fifth inning. Stetson junior infielder Demi Meza and senior pitcher/infielder Meredith Owen earned back-to-back walks. Meza and Owen were bunted over by sophomore infielder Kayla Drury. Meza scored on a sacrifice fly from junior utility player Amanda Grimaldo to give the Hatters a 2-0 lead. The Lady Bisons scattered six hits in the losing effort. Anderson picked up the loss. Her record fell to 19-5. Owen picked up the victory for the Hatters, improving her record to 24-7. Lipscomb head coach Kristin Ryman said she was not expecting the morning to end like it did. “I thought we came out in good spirits,” Ryman said. “We struggled to adjust to the strike zone early in the game. It’s frustrating to come into a game expecting to start one way and not have that happen.” The offensive struggles continued for the Lady Bisons Thursday evening in game two against USC Upstate. Upstate got on the board...

Lady Bisons softball team get sweep over Ohio University

The Lady Bisons softball team swept Ohio University Wednesday afternoon at Draper Diamond. Game one was pretty quiet until the fourth inning. Ohio University sophomore infielder Alexia Cortez reached on an error then stole second. Cortez scored on a throwing error to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. The Lady Bisons had a couple of hits through five innings, but the game-changing hit came in the sixth. Junior outfielder/infielder Gracey Aguirre got walked. Senior infielder Kristen Sturdivant hit a two-run homerun over the left center field fence to give the Lipscomb the 2-1 lead. “We knew we were going to have to make adjustments throughout the game, and I knew going up to the plate, with Gracey on base, it was my time to step up,” Sturdivant said. The Bobcats threatened in the seventh inning. Ohio’s senior infielder Alexandria Basquez got a leadoff single and then was bunted over to second. Sophomore pitcher Savannah Jo Dorsey hit a single to center field. Lipscomb’s outfielder/infielder Brittany Elmore threw the tying run out at the plate. Ohio’s junior outfielder Dakota Pyles singled to load the bases with two outs. Lipscomb pitcher Ashley Anderson got a strikeout to end the game. Anderson remains unbeaten with a 7-0 record and finished the game with seven strikeouts while giving up two hits. “We showed great composure in that tight situation, and Ashley [Anderson] did a nice job of staying focused,” said Lady Bisons head coach Kristin Ryman. The Lipscomb bats came to life in game two of the doubleheader. The Bobcats struck first, but the Lady Bisons answered scoring two runs in the first off a...