by Travis Byrd | May 2, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
The Atlantic Sun conference has taken the college basketball world by storm over the last couple of years. In 2013, A-Sun member Florida Gulf Coast went on a magical run to the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA tournament, and in March, the Mercer Bears upset heavily favored Duke in the first round of the tourney. To Lipscomb Athletic Director Philip Hutcheson, the success of fellow A-Sun teams provides a good reputation to the other members of the conference. “A rising tide lifts all boats,” Hutcheson said. “When teams from this conference win, it makes everybody look good.” The good news for Lipscomb fans is that the Bisons have been very competitive with the conference’s top teams. “This year, we were right there,” Hutcheson said. “We split with FGCU and swept or split with most of the teams in the conference. We aren’t far from the top.” One of the problems that face teams from the A-Sun is that it is considered a non-power conference. The A-Sun is not in the same conversation as the ACC, SEC or Big Ten, but Hutcheson said he believes that with the recent success, the conference will not go unnoticed for long. “The thing about our conference is that only the conference tournament champion gets in the NCAA tournament,” Hutcheson said. “If teams from this conference continue to get in the tournament and advance, that could open the door for other teams that have good years in this conference to get an at-large bid.” This past season in men’s basketball was the first for Lipscomb head coach Casey Alexander. He led the Bisons to a fifth...
by Carter Sanderson | Apr 15, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
The dedication of Smith Stadium had the Lipscomb softball team hitting their stride, winning three in a row this weekend against the Mercer Bears at Draper Diamond. The softball stadium was officially dedicated to Michael Smith and his son Derek Smith, who are owners of Rio Grande Fence Company. The Smiths are heavily active in the softball program, giving the university one of the best fields in the Atlantic Sun Conference, if not nationally. The field was dedicated to the Smiths after the 9-1 blowout win against Mercer on Saturday afternoon, and right before the 5-4 win that took eight innings to get it done. Their streak continued on Sunday when they hosted Mercer for the third and final game, and after trailing 1-0, they forced extra innings yet again and senior infielder Kelsey Cartwright drove in the winning run. “Well, yesterday, [Mercer’s pitcher] was jamming me a lot, so I was expecting more in, but the pitch before was out,” Cartwright said. “Thankfully, Paige [Neely] got on to even give me the opportunity, but they came back again with the outside, and I was able to luckily get a hit up the middle.” Neey, the junior infielder who scored the winning run, also contributed heavily on both sides of the ball all weekend for the team. She said both sides were needed in each win. “Their team definitely kept us motivated, Neely said. “They were scratching and clawing, and we just had a motivation to not let them win and that went from defense to offense.” The weekend sweep puts the Lady Bisons at 34-9 overall and 14-6...
by Jesica Parsley | Apr 14, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb Bisons baseball team took the series over the Mercer Bears this weekend and now sits in first place in the Atlantic Sun conference. After a rain delay on Friday, Lipscomb came out on top 4-2. Mercer struck first with a solo home run by Sasha LaGarde but the Bisons punched back and were winning 2-1 after three innings. Head Coach Jeff Forehand told Lipscomb Athletics that Friday’s game was just a good game between two good teams. “Luckily for us we got some fortunate hits and scored when we had runners in scoring position,” Forehand said. “They made a mistake that gave us one run but it was just a good ball game all the way around.” Saturday’s game resulted in a 2-1 victory for the Bisons to give them the series win. Junior John Allison earned a lead-off walk in first inning and would later score on a sacrifice fly from senior Drew Adams. Junior Grant Massey would also score in the first inning capping off the scoring for the Bisons for the rest of the game. “It was a great first inning,” Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand said. “Drew and [Austin] Sistrunk had a couple of clutch, situational at-bats for us to get those runs on the board early. But we have to give Mercer credit because they pitched really well after that point to hold us in check. Both teams made some big plays throughout the game, but we were able to hold on for the win.” Redshirt junior pitcher Hunter Brothers got the win giving up one run...
by Carter Sanderson | Apr 10, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
The battle is on at Dugan Field this weekend as the Bison baseball team prepares for a rivalry game against the Bears of Mercer University. The Bison’s enter the weekend 10-2 in the conference which matches the Bears’ conference record of 10-2. The first place battle begins on Friday night at 6 p.m. and continues again on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at Dugan Field. Bisons head coach Jeff Forehand is excited about the opportunity for his team, and says he wants this series to have record attendance. “Home is one thing, but having a crowd and support behind you is another,” Forehand said about the big weekend ahead. “We have good crowds most of the games, but this is one I just thought we could have a chance to break the record, get some people out there,” Forehand said. “It’s supposed to be a nice weekend, so [we’re] just challenging all the students to wherever they’re going to be, bring whatever you’re doing and bring it out to the field.” Mercer has been a well-coached team for several years now and is constantly flirting with the Top 25 polls. The Bisons, on the other hand, are 19-4 in their last 23 games, and Forehand says the practices this week have been the most intense that they have had all year. Forehand and his group know all about the positives that come from the momentum that comes with winning. “Anytime you can win a college game, its a big win because everybody works at it just as hard as you do,” Forehand said. “But as...
by Bridgette Begle | Jan 12, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb Lady Bisons fell to the Mercer Bears Saturday night 72-79, but topped the Atlantic Sun season record for individual player points. With the Lady Bisons playing with a limited roster for the night, redshirt sophomore Danay Fothergill topped her career high and set the new A-Sun season record at 34 for most points scored in a game. Four of the Lady Bisons saw over 37 minutes of play: Fothergill, redshirt sophomore Ashley Southern, junior Sara Bliss, and sophomore Kelli Smith. “Some of us had to play all 40 minutes, and that’s fine, but we just had to do what we had to do to get the win,” Fothergill said. The first half of the game saw six lead-changes and four turnovers per team. Although Mercer came out more aggressive in the beginning with 7 personal fouls, the teams were neck-in-neck at the half with the score at 37-38 Mercer. At the close of the second half, the Lady Bisons were within 3 points of the Bears with 9 seconds to go in the game. Strategic fouling sent Fothergill out of the game with her fifth foul and the Bears secured their win as junior Precious Bridges sunk both her free throws. Southern collected her eleventh double-double and was joined by Fothergill and Smith with points in the double digits. Mercer junior Teanna Robinson had six shot-blocks on the night and gave Lipscomb freshman Faith LeGate a challenging night at the post. LeGate, a starter for the Lady Bisons against Mercer, pulled down eleven rebounds against the 6’5″‘ build of Robinson. LeGate says she came into the game...
