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Bre burke windup
2
North Alabama UNA 16-5
5
Winner Lipscomb LIP 11-12
North Alabama UNA
16-5
2
Final
5
Lipscomb LIP
11-12
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
North Alabama UNA 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 7 0
Lipscomb LIP 1 1 0 0 3 0 X 5 9 1

W: Burke, Breana (7-5) L: Alyssa Drogemuller (1-1)

Game Recap: Softball | | Mark McGee

Bisons Take Series Finale vs. North Alabama To Close Weekend

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Lipscomb softball coach Kristin Ryman challenged her team and they rose to the challenge.

After dropping a doubleheader to North Alabama Saturday, the Lady Bisons closed out the ASUN series with a 5-2 win over the Lions at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium Sunday afternoon.

Lipscomb is 11-12, 2-4 in the ASUN. North Alabama is 16-5, 5-1 in the conference.

The win may have been summed up best by Caitlin Turner in the postgame meeting. She had two hits and drove in a run.

"Caitlin Turner spoke up and said `the fight today was awesome'," Ryman said. "She pointed to the fire and excitement she felt from the team all day in the dugout and on the field.

"They saw how fun it was. Caitlin said we have to keep this going through the week of practice. She said we don't need to be lax in practice and then try to turn it on again next weekend."

Ryman called on her team leaders, like Caitlin Turner, to set the tone. They did it in different ways. Olivia Ward drove in two of the three runs in the key fifth inning on a ground ball double down the left field line. Ward also made some solid plays at third base. 

"I am really proud of our leaders," Ryman said. "They came out and set the tone, which is what we needed. Everyone on the team followed suit. We showed up and fought in every area.

"Everybody here wants to win. But there are challenges that come with that like finding little ways to make yourself better and make the team better. It is a process."

Lipscomb scored a run in the first and another in the second to set the pace.

Pitcher Breana Burke was struggling with one of her pitches early in the game and took it upon herself to do some extra work in the bullpen while her teammates were batting.

Burke (7-5) threw a complete game. She scattered seven hits, walked three, hit one batter and struck out six.

"Bre had a key pitch that wasn't working well," Ryman said. "She took it upon herself to go out to the bullpen and work a few times.

"The second half of the game I thought that pitch really took off for her. It was a senior, veteran mature thing to do. She was going to find a way to make the pitch work. It was a major difference maker for us down the stretch."

North Alabama used three pitchers. Starter Alyssa Drogemuller evened her record at 1-1 with the loss. In two innings she allowed four hits and two runs, all earned. She also walked two batters.

Laken Distefano threw 2.1 innings and gave up three earned runs. She struck out two. Maci Birdyshaw closed out the game with 1.2 innings of work. She gave up one hit and struck out one.

For the third game in the series the Lady Bisons out hit the Lions, holding a 9-to-7 edge.

Presley Leebrick connected for a game-high three hits and also scored a run. 

"We have been urging this team to find the fire and fight," Ryman said. "We did that in game one Saturday and we were so proud of that even though we came up short.

"In game two I felt like it was more lackluster again. I have said it since day one, if we just get beat and we are playing full out with full energy, gritty softball and we still get beat then so be it. I challenged them pretty hard."

Extra Innings:
  • Leebrick, Ward and Kamrie Rich each slammed a double. Leebrick leads with six followed by Ward with five and Rich with four.
  • Rich extended her hitting streak to four games. Ward has hits in her last three games.
  • Leebrick has eight multi-hit games. This was her season high with three.
  • Caitlin Turner has five multi-hit games.
Up Next:
The Lady Bisons return to Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium for an ASUN series with Liberty. The doubleheader Saturday begins at noon. Sunday's game will start at 1.
 
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