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...

Lipscomb softball sweeps Memphis in doubleheader

Lipscomb softball took the doubleheader 3-2 and 13-1 from the Memphis Tigers at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium Tuesday afternoon. The Lady Bisons came out dressed in pink jerseys to raise awareness for breast cancer. In the first game, Memphis got a two-run homer by catcher Haley Ross in the top of the second. Lipscomb tied it up in the bottom of the fourth, with two runs scored on a bases-loaded single by freshman Caitlin Plocheck. Plocheck broke the tie in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run. “Plocheck is a very talented hitter,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “The quality of her at-bats seem to get better and better.” Lipscomb continued its clutch hitting in the second game, with a final score of 13-1. The Lady Bisons scored a season high 12 runs in the bottom of the second. The major hit of the inning was a grand slam by junior Baylee Williams. “She has an effortless swing,” Ryman said. “It doesn’t always look explosive, but she has good hands.” Senior Brianne Welch had the other big hit in the inning, with a two-run homer that actually bounced off the scoreboard. “Brianne has as much raw power as anyone on the team,” Ryman said. “When she gets a hold of one, it is going to go out of the ballpark.” The Memphis Tigers played Lipscomb close in the first game, but could not solve junior Tanner Sanders’ pitching in the second game. Sanders not only got her first save in the first game, but she also pitched a complete second game. The Tigers scored its only run...

Lipscomb softball splits doubleheader against Western Kentucky

It was a tale of two games for the Lipscomb softball team on Tuesday afternoon. After dropping the first game 9-2, the Lady Bisons bounced back winning 3-1 in game two against Western Kentucky at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. In game one, the Lady Toppers opened the score in the third inning, but Lipscomb tied the score in the bottom of third. Junior outfielder Brittany Elmore hit a single to right field, then stole second before junior infielder Baylee Williams drove her home on a single up the middle. Things began to unravel for the Lady Bisons in the fifth inning as the Hilltoppers capitalized on two hits, two walks and two hit batters for five runs. Elmore scored the only other run in the bottom of the fifth on an error. She also stole three bases, bringing her season total to 27. The Lady Toppers went on to score two more runs in the sixth before adding their ninth and final run in the last inning. Junior Tanner Sanders was accredited with the loss. She surrendered seven runs, five hits, walked seven and struck out two batters in five innings of work. Sophomore McCarley Thomas gave up two hits and two earned runs in two innings of relief. Following the first game, Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman stressed that the team needed the leaders to step up. “Leadership’s a big thing for us,” Ryman said. “We’ve got to play with a little bit more fire. It starts with our seniors — them bringing that fire and leadership everyday in practice and then bringing it on game day.” In game two, senior outfielder Brianne Welch opened the third inning with...

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...