Lady Bisons tie against FGCU 1-1 after 110 minutes of play

Lady Bisons tie against FGCU 1-1 after 110 minutes of play

Sunday afternoon, with temperatures rising to nearly 100 degrees, the Lipscomb Lady Bisons faced off against fellow ASUN women’s soccer powerhouse the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles in their second conference game of the year. Neither team was ever able to fully gain control of the match as play stretched into overtime and then double overtime, where the final result was a 1-1 tie after 110 minutes of play. The Eagles seemed to take control of the game in the 15th minute when senior midfielder Marjorie Boilesen put the ball in the back of the net off of sophomore midfielder Ashlee Brentlinger’s assist, but sophomore midfielder Kristi Jones was able to respond shortly before halftime for the Bisons leveling the score once again. Entering the second half, it was clear to see why these two teams were ranked first and second in the preseason ASUN poll, as impenetrable defense and smart possession fought through the heat to keep both teams scoreless for the final 45 minutes of regulation. Lipscomb was able to do this by keeping FGCU’s all-American senior forward Evdokia Popadinova quiet. “We highlighted two players, 17 [senior forward Evdokia Popadinova] and 25 [senior midfielder Marjorie Boilesen]; 25 got the goal so we didn’t do quite exactly as we game-planned, but they are super talented,” Lipscomb’s head coach O’Brien said. “As far as shutting down Evie [Popadinova], our defenders knew that those two were their primary point-getters, the ones that lead their team in all the offensive statistical categories. When those two are around the ball, I know that there is an extra level of focus, and I...

Bisons advance to A-Sun Championship with win over Florida Gulf Coast

The Lipscomb baseball team advances to the 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship Sunday after beating No. 1 Florida Gulf Coast University in two games Saturday.  The Bisons had to play two games against Florida Gulf Coast at FGCU’s Swanson Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. Lipscomb lost the first one 10-5. Gulf Coast’s bats came out hot. They scored three in the first and four in the second. Lipscomb junior infielder Grant Massey and junior pitcher/infielder Tyson Ashcraft both had two hits in game one. Ashcraft, freshman infielder Hunter Hanks, redshirt sophomore outfielder Josh Lee, senior catcher Nick Rome and redshirt freshman catcher Tyler Bethune each had one RBI. In game two, Lipscomb’s bats came alive. The Bisons beat Gulf Coast 11-4. Lee, Massey and senior outfielder Drew Adams had three hits apiece.  Rome and Adams each had three RBIs. Junior pitcher Ian Martinez-McGraw threw a compete game.  He gave up four runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts. Lipscomb will need to beat No. 3 Kennesaw State twice on Sunday to take home the championship. The first game will begin at 12 and will air on ESPN3. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...

Bisons defeat top-ranked FGCU with eighth-inning rally

The Lipscomb Bisons baseball team upset the top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Thursday night in their second game of the Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Championship thanks to a late game rally. The Bisons scored three go-ahead runs in the eighth inning to take a 5-4 lead. With two outs and two runners on base, junior left-fielder Josh Lee blasted a hit to left field that scored senior right-fielder Drew Adams. Freshman catcher Tyler Bethune was then able to score both Lee and freshman third baseman Hunter Hanks to give Lipscomb the lead. The Bisons notched their first run of the game in the fourth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly from Lee that sent Adams to home plate, a preview of what would come in the eighth inning. Thanks to their two victories, Lipscomb will not be playing on Friday, but will instead jump back into action on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. against the winner of Florida Gulf Coast and Jacksonville. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...

Lady Bisons take series against Florida Gulf Coast

The Lady Bisons softball team won its second conference series against Florida Gulf Coast University this weekend in Nashville at Draper Diamond. Saturday’s doubleheader was full of nail biting and clutch hitting for the Lady Bisons. Lipscomb won both games. FGCU scored one run in the first game off an RBI single from senior catcher Chelsea Zgrabik. Not much action happened again until the bottom of the fifth inning. Freshman infielder Mimi Cartwright singled to leadoff. Junior outfielder Brianne Welch reached on a fielder’s choice. Sophomore outfielder Brittany Elmore got a bunt single to load the bases. Junior infielder Paige Neely singled up the middle to score Mimi Cartwright and Welch to give Lipscomb the 2-1 lead. The Lady Eagles responded in the sixth scoring two runs off of senior infielder Brittney Garabedian’s single up the middle. Junior outfielder Kelsey Carpenter and freshman infielder Tori Van Camp scored to give FGCU the 3-2 lead. The Lady Bisons tied the game in the bottom of the inning off Elmore’s RBI single to center field. The Lady Eagles took the lead in the seventh after Garabedian hit a solo homerun. However, the Lady Bisons weren’t finished. Senior infielder Kelsey Cartwright knocked a solo homerun with one out to tie the game 4-4. With one runner on base, senior catcher/infielder Haley Elliott hits a pinch-hit home run to give the Lady Bisons a 6-4 victory in game one. Lipscomb senior pitcher Ashley Anderson went all seven innings giving up four runs on five hits while striking out five batters. In game two, Lipscomb got on the board first off an RBI single...

Bisons top 2013 conference champs Florida Gulf Coast in late-season game

Allen Arena hosted another exciting game on Thursday night as the Bisons’ basketball team topped Florida Gulf Coast University 92-71 with the help of sharp 3-point shooting.  From the tip-off, the Eagles of FGCU scored two points to lead 2-0, but the Bisons answered, scoring six straight three-pointers. From there, Lipscomb never looked back, leading by 20 at the half. Bisons head coach Casey Alexander said that the shooting helped lead the team to victory. “We shot the ball great the whole night, and making our first six was a huge lift for us…confidence wise, and we held the lead from there,” Alexander said. In the second half, the Bisons cooled off, but they stayed consistent and continued to be aggressive, take shots and most importantly, make the shots. In total, Lipscomb scored fifteen three’s, six from junior forward Martin Smith, one from senior guard/forward Khion Sankey, three from freshman guard Josh Williams and three from redshirt freshman guard J.C. Hampton. Martin Smith and Hampton tied for 21 points to lead the team. Junior forward Malcolm Smith and sophomore guard Talbott Denny also scored double digits with 20 points and 11, respectively. As good as the shooting was, Alexander said that the perimeter shooting was not necessarily part of the plan on Thursday. “We just took the shots that came to us,” Alexander said. “We didn’t come out here trying to shoot a lot of three’s; that wasn’t really part of the game plan.” FGCU responded to Lipscomb’s shooting, as junior guard Brett Comer lead the charge with 27 points. It was not enough, however. The Eagles, over the course of the game, turned...