One Win Away: Lipscomb Advances to Championship Game
Josh Smith went seven innings and allowed only one earned run to get the win for the Bisons. Lipscomb starters have posted a 3.00 ERA in the championship. Image courtesy of ASunPhotos.com
Date Posted: 5/23/2008
DeLAND, Fla. - Lipscomb moved to within one win of its first NCAA Tournament appearance, defeating Gardner-Webb 8-2 on Saturday at the 2008 Atlantic Sun Championship Presented by Progress Energy.
For the fourth straight game, Lipscomb (31-28) dented the plate first when with one out in the top of the second, Justin Sanders gathered the first of his three hits on the day, singling to left center and after moving to second on a fielder's choice, scored on Branden Cadavid's single up the middle
Courtesy of a pair of two-out runs in the fourth inning, the Bisons increased their lead to 3-0. Jo Jo Gutierrez walked with the bases loaded, scoring Sanders and Allen Bolden singled home Ryan Wilkins. Gardner-Webb (28-29) would answer with a run in its half of the fourth as Justin Loyd doubled home Daniel Cooke.
The Bisons built their lead to four runs courtesy of a two-run home run by Sanders over the wall in right. The home run marked his second of the A-Sun Championship and increased his RBI to eight, tied with teammate Allen Bolden for the top spot for the championship. After Gardner-Webb scored a single tally to cut the lead to 5-2, Wilkins delivered a gargantuan shot to dead center field, clearing the 403-foot marker and crashing off the batters eye. Caleb Joseph produced the final two runs of the contest with a drive over the fence in left for his 16th home run of the season, his second at the A-Sun Championship. The First-Team Atlantic Sun catcher finished the day 3-for-5 with two more runs scored, increasing his total for the week to nine, tops at the championship.
"We came here as the No. 1 seed hoping to finish it up with a win and hopefully we do that," Sanders said. "Here we are, one win away. We'll just take it one inning at a time, one pitch at a time. You can't beat getting runs like this. We're hitting the ball hard, putting it in play and pushing runs across. We know we're going to put up runs. Bring on Belmont."
Josh Smith turned in Lipscomb's third excellent start of the A-Sun Championship, scattering seven hits over seven full innings of work to level his record at 3-3. He allowed one earned run, lowering the Bisons' starters ERA at the A-Sun Championship to an even 3.00. In his last two outings, spanning 16 innings, Smith has picked up a pair of victories while striking out 15 and allowing only two earned runs. Ben Campbell suffered the loss in throwing the Runnin' Bulldogs first complete game of the season. His record fell to 2-6.
"Josh has been pitching in the mid-week for us all year long," Lipscomb head coach Jeff Forehand said. "He's stepped up and threw strikes and did what he had to do for us to win the game. For us to put ourselves in a position to be in the final game...we've been preparing for it all year long."
The Bisons will face the winner of the contest between Gardner-Webb and Belmont for the right to represent the Atlantic Sun in the NCAA Tournament. Game time has yet to be determined. Fans are encouraged to continue to check AtlanticSun.org for all the latest updates.
Notes: Lipscomb defeated an opponent four times in the same season for the first time since becoming NCAA Division I...The Bisons will attempt to become the first top seed to capture the A-Sun Championship since UCF in 2002...The Bisons will attempt to become the fifth team since 1981 to capture the A-Sun title after never having won a game previous at the championship (FIU in 1991, Southeastern Louisiana in 1992, UCF in 1993 and Jacksonville in 1999)...Brock Miller and Daniel Cooke each tied the school's single-season record for steals with 30...former Bulldog Frank Cauthen set the mark in 1974... Gardner-Webb's Ben Campbell threw a career-high 137 pitches...GWU batted just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position in Saturday's game...Lipscomb's appearance in the final marks the third straight year a team from Tennessee will appear in the championship game (ETSU, 2006; Belmont, 2007)...No team from Tennessee has won the A-Sun Baseball Championship.
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.
