by Hunter Patterson | Apr 14, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
“Goals are important. Having a vision is important. Commitment to the process is more important,” Butler men’s basketball coach Brad Stevens told the crowd at the fourth annual Don Meyer Evening of Excellence on April 14. And Stevens knows the significance behind not just winning, but figuring out what it takes to win. Character, Commitment to Details, Performance and Results – those are the levels of Stevens’ pyramid he has used each of the five years of his head coaching career at Butler to help his players remember to keep their priorities straight. In those five years, he’s managed to get his team two Final Four appearances. “You have to simplify things, but have to do a lot of work to before you can simplify things,” the two-time Horizon Coach of the Year said. With guidance from two notable coaches, Thad Matta and Todd Licklighter, Stevens learned he had to “think like a head coach every day,” and to “just be yourself.” On the bottom level of the pyramid, Stevens listed character as the most important attribute. “You can be humble, but you need to balance that with courage,” Stevens said. He said there have been seasons where the team has lost players to the NBA draft or graduation, and the younger players were not ready to “take the reins.” While the players may not have been physically or mentally prepared, near the season’s end, Stevens said the same players were playing with a courage that allowed them to “not care about anything and give everything.” The second level is preparation and attention to detail. “In basketball, we look at...
by Hunter Patterson | May 22, 2010 | News Slider, Sports
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. _ Caroline Mason’s two-out ground ball single down the left field line scored Mollie Mitchell with the game-winning run in the ninth inning in a 7-6 extra inning win over UAB Saturday night. It was the second game of the day for both teams. The Lady Bisons had lost 5-2 to Alabama to open a blistering hot day at the Alabama Softball Complex in the second day of the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional. UAB beat Alcorn State 9-0 in six innings to eliminate the Lady Braves from the regional. They had approximately 30 minutes to get ready to face the Lady Bisons. The Lady Bisons raised their record to 50-12, a new all-time program high for wins in a season. The old mark of 49 was set in the NAIA era in 1997. It was only the third extra innings game of the season for the Lady Bisons. The Lady Bisons are unbeaten in extra innings games. The Lady Bisons will have a rematch with top-seed Alabama Sunday at 1:30. If the Lady Bisons win that game the two teams will meet again at 4 with the winner advancing to a Super Regional. Friday night the Lady Bisons beat UAB 4-1 to open the regional. The Lady Bisons are 3-1 against the Blazers this season. In the first inning the Lady Bisons scored one run. Courtney Billington singled to left field to bring home Kellie Sirus who had reached base on a two-out double that bounce off the lower left field wall. In the third the Lady Bisons struck for four runs. Lauren Dortwegt opened with a single...
by Hunter Patterson | May 21, 2010 | Uncategorized
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. _ No matter how much the Lipscomb Lady Bisons tried to act like it was just another game there were more than enough jitters to go around before the facing UAB in the first round of the NCAA Regional at the Alabama Softball Complex. It was the first NCAA Regional appearance for both Lipscomb and UAB. Lady Bisons coach Kristin Ryman had stressed the need to take control of the game early in an effort to chase away the nerves. The Lady Bisons had split a doubleheader with UAB April 20, winning 1-0 and losing 7-5. They scored one run in the first, two in the second and added another in the fifth on the way to a 4-1 win over UAB from Conference-USA.. “I couldn’t be more proud of the way we came out and jumped on them early,” Ryman said. “Any time we score first it takes the pressure off. It definitely takes the pressure off our pitcher, Whitney Kiihnl. “There are always some nerves that are present when you’re playing in your first Regional. We were familiar with UAB already which was a good thing going in. I’m just glad we walked away with a win in our first game.” The Lady Bisons will face Alabama, the regional host and No. 1 seed, Saturday at 1:30. The Crimson Tide is 49-9 and advanced by beating Alcorn State Friday night 9-0 in a game called in the fifth inning due to the eight-run lead rule. Alcorn State, from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, finished its season with a 24-25 record. Kiihnl, a sophomore, struck out 11...
by Hunter Patterson | May 18, 2010 | Sports
On Sunday night the Lady Bisons found out where their journey to a National Championship would begin—Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Lady Bisons clinched a berth in the NCAA tournament after winning the Atlantic Sun Tournament earlier that weekend, defeating USC Upstate 11-0. The team was also the A-Sun regular season champions. Lipscomb was on the winning side of the scoreboard a remarkable 48 times this season. At the end of the regular season their final record stood at 48-11 overall and 18-2 in the Atlantic Sun. While the team dominated the Atlantic Sun, the voters for postseason awards took notice. Six players were all conference, and head coach Kristin Ryman was named coach of the year. The Lady Bisons were lead on the mound this year by sophomore Whitney Kiihnl. Kiihnl went 31-3 on the season, posting an ERA of 0.74. That ERA was good enough for the best in the nation. In 41 appearances (213 innings), Kiihnl only gave up 22 earned runs. Kiihnl also ranks 14th in strikeouts per seven innings with 10.5. The Lady Bisons were also a force from the plate. Kellie Sirus finished the season ranked 17th in home runs with 17. As a team, Lipscomb finished the season ranked twelfth in the nation in batting average and 27th in slugging percentage. With those types of numbers, Lipscomb has caused a stir in the NCAA Softball polls. Lipscomb cracked the top 25 in a few polls this season, getting the national recognition that the team deserves. After Selection Sunday Lipscomb found themselves in the the very top group along with number one ranked Alabama, Alcorn...
by Hunter Patterson | Apr 21, 2010 | Sports
The Lady Bisons split with the University of Albama at Birmingham on Tuesday, winning 1-0 and losing 7-5. Video: Whitney Kiihnl on Lipscomb News Lipscomb entered the game with a RPI ranking of 39, UAB was just in front of the Lady Bisons, ranked 38th. As seen in game one, the teams would show one another why they were ranked in consecutive positions. In the first game of the afternoon, the Lady Bisons scored their one and only run of the game via an Abby Keese single that scored senior Lauren Dortwegt. Dortwegt reached base on an error. Lipscomb was blanked for the rest of the game, but sophomore pitcher Whitney Kiihnl made the Lipscomb side feel alright about it. Kiihnl pitched her fifth perfect game of the season, bringing her record to 25-2. The shutout was her 11th of the season. Overall, it was Lipscomb’s 24th shutout of the season. Kiihnl would strike out 10 en route to the win. Game one’s box score can be viewed here. Game two started out completely different for Lipscomb. The Lady Bisons found themselves down 3-0 early on in the game when Christen Campbell allowed three runs on four hits in the first. Lipscomb answered back quickly, though, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second to tie it at 3-3. Courtney Billington scored off of a Christen Campbell double. That was followed by a two-run home run from sophomore Mollie Mitchell. The homer would be Mitchell’s first of two in the game. Campbell was replaced by Alaina Jacobson, who would give up four runs off of five hits. That...
