Lipscomb softball takes two of three to North Florida

It was almost a perfect conclusion to an already special weekend for the Lipscomb softball team — almost.  After winning the first two games of the three-game conference series on Saturday, the Lady Bisons were upended by the North Florida Ospreys 7-6 on Sunday afternoon at Draper Diamond at Smith Field. Despite a late rally in the sixth and seventh innings, the Lady Bisons came up short in the end of the last game. “We did a good job late in the game with runners on, but not early in the game,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “It stinks that six runs is not enough. I think we should have capitalized on some things earlier in the game but we didn’t.” Lipscomb had no problem getting on base, as they recorded nine hits total, but couldn’t quite finish the job when they needed to. “We can’t leave bases loaded twice in the first five innings,” Ryman said. “That was a killer.” Despite the loss on Sunday, Ryman was optimistic about the two wins on Saturday. “We’re at the point of the season where every game matters,” Ryman said. “That is a positive takeaway.” The Lady Bisons were led offensively by senior Paige Neely and freshman Abby Fenichel who each had three hits while junior Baylee Williams added two of her own. Williams and junior Brittany Elmore also led the way with two RBI’s a piece. In the circle, junior Kelly Young was accredited with the loss. She gave up six runs on five hits while striking out seven. On Saturday afternoon, the ending was different in both games. Senior Gracey Aguirre bolted a solo homer over the left-center...

Softball takes one of three from Stetson in weekend series

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...

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 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...