Lipscomb softball sweeps weekend series, improving record to 8-9

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...

Lady Bisons opened up regular season with a weekend series

The Lady Bison basketball team opened up the 2014-2015 season with one win and one loss. Lipscomb earned their first win of the season in the season opener against Georgia Southern. The Lady Bisons won 80-74 Nov. 14 in Allen Arena. Senior guard Sara Bliss led the way for Lipscomb with 22 points. Redshirt junior guard Danay Fothergill added 17 points, and redshirt junior forward Ashley Southern scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Lipscomb shot 46 percent from the field and 47 percent behind the three-point line. Freshmen guards Kennedy Potts and Emily Eubank made their first collegiate starts for Lipscomb. Back in action in Allen Arena on Nov. 16, Lipscomb fell 79-66 to Wright State. Fothergill led all Lipscomb scorers with 19. Bliss scored 13. Turnovers were costly for the Lady Bisons. Wright State collected 19 points off of Lipscomb’s 22 turnovers. Wright State’s Tay’ler Mingo led all scorers with 30. The Lady Bisons head to Birmingham, Alabama for a matchup with UAB on Nov. 19. Photo courtesy of...

Lady Bisons softball team wins one in doubleheader against UAB

In what was the second meeting between the teams this season, the Lipscomb softball team split in their doubleheader with UAB on Wednesday at Draper Diamond. In the first game, the Purple and Gold used its defense to propel them to a 2-1 victory. Sophomore Brittany Elmore drove in the two runs on a walk-off double in the first game. However, in the second game, they struggled to keep the Blazers off the base, resulting in a 5-3 loss. “Getting the win the first game was huge for us,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “Obviously, we wanted the sweep…we thought we had a chance to win it, but UAB did a really great job of coming back with two runs late.” The Lady Bisons came into the contest ranked 35th in the nation and with a record of 28-8, so, on paper, they are the better team, but UAB, a member of the Conference USA, has had the upper-hand in the series since the “rivalry” began in 2010. The Lady Bisons defeated the Blazers 9-5 in February during the Getterman Classic in Waco, Texas. To Lipscomb’s credit, they earned the Atlantic Sun’s 24th win against a 2013 NCAA Tournament team with the win. Coming off weekend losses to conference rival USC Upstate, the Lady Bisons wanted to regain some of their confidence against UAB. “I thought we played well, and we attacked the ball better than we did last weekend,” Ryman said. “That was good to see.” Coach Ryman gave a lot of credit to the team’s pitching for its win in the first game and added if they had kept...

Lady Bisons softball team within reach of top 25 recognition through early season play

Top 25 is in reach for the Lady Bisons softball team as they moved up to No. 28 in the ESPN.COM/USA softball ranking.  With the season just two weeks under way, the Lady Bisons have made their presence known with wins from Virginia Tech, Butler, Iowa, Drake, UAB and No. 15 Baylor. “It’s exciting to be ranked, and it honestly only motivates us that much more to continue to be the best,” senior catcher Rena’ Cothron said. Lipscomb found huge success when they traveled to Waco, Texas this past weekend to play in the Getterman Classic. Against Baylor, the Bisons won 1-0, which bumped the Bears from 14 down to 15. “So far, I think the season has gone great. 8-1 is a great start to a season, but it’s just that, a start,” Cothron said. “Every game we have won so far has been a complete team win. We just have to keep playing our game and take it one day at a time.” Junior Brianne Welch, junior Paige Neely (recently named Atlantic Sun Player of the Week) and sophomore Tanner Sanders made the Getterman Classic All-Tournament team. Welch found success during the tournament, as she had her first career home run against Iowa. “It feels pretty awesome being top 28,” Welch said. “It’s a great feeling to get recognition for the hard work we’ve put in.” Welch had a two run bomb against Iowa, but it was Sanders who was the winning pitcher. She was named A-Sun Pitcher of the Week for her performance in Texas. Junior Gracey Aguirre, who plays right field for the Lady Bisons,...

Lady Bisons give it all they’ve got in OT loss to Morehead State

Allen Arena has been an exciting-yet-heartbreaking place for basketball in the past few days.  After the men’s basketball team nearly pulled off a big win over Belmont, the women’s basketball team opened their season in similar style, nearly topping their own Ohio Valley opponent. Despite a standout afternoon for redshirt sophomore Ashley Southern, the Lady Bisons fell in overtime 82-77 to the visiting Morehead State Lady Eagles. The Lady Bisons started off strong with two three-pointers from junior Sara Bliss, but Lady Eagle difference-maker Terrice Robinson began to put her own points on the board, giving Morehead State a brief lead. Soon after, Lipscomb took control of the first half, leading at halftime 33-25. The game looked to be far from the Lady Eagles’ reach when the Lady Bisons went up 47-33 with around fifteen minutes on the clock, but some key arch buckets from Robinson got Morehead State right back in the game. Lady Eagle Shanice Parker sunk a three at the 11:41 mark that that had the Lady Bisons’ lead down to four. The Lady Bisons began to once again distance themselves from Morehead, going up 57-49 at the eight minute mark, but more clutch play from the Lady Eagles allowed them to catch up to Lipscomb, taking a small lead as the final minutes ticked away. The Lady Bisons refused to call it quits, though, keeping the margin low for the Lady Eagles. With 19 seconds left, Robinson scored a layup that put Morehead up by 3, but a last-second three from Bliss sent the crowd into an uproar and the game into overtime. Though overtime...