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Bre Burke & Kyndall Crawford
0
Lipscomb LIP 17-17
1
Winner Liberty LIBERTY 38-12
Lipscomb LIP
17-17
0
Final
1
Liberty LIBERTY
38-12
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Lipscomb LIP 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Liberty LIBERTY 0 0 0 0 1 0 X 1 7 2

W: KIRBY, Emily (12-4) L: Burke, Breana (12-8)

8
Winner Lipscomb LIP 18-17
7
Liberty LIBERTY 38-13
Winner
Lipscomb LIP
18-17
8
Final
7
Liberty LIBERTY
38-13
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
Lipscomb LIP 0 0 2 0 4 0 1 1 8 16 0
Liberty LIBERTY 0 0 2 0 2 1 2 0 7 12 0

W: Burke, Breana (13-8) L: KIRBY, Emily (12-5)

Game Recap: Softball |

Bisons Take One Of Two In ASUN Quarterfinals, Force Game 3 vs. Liberty

LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Lipscomb softball team lived to fight another day after splitting a pair of games in the ASUN Championship Quarterfinals on Friday. The No. 4 seed Bisons fell to No. 1 seed Liberty, 1-0, in the first game, before bouncing back with an 8-7 victory over eight innings in game two.

Lipscomb's win in the second game ended Liberty's 17-game winning streak, which was the fourth-longest in the nation coming into the weekend, and forced a winner-take-all rubber match, to be played on Saturday, to move on to the ASUN Championship Semifinals.

No. 1 Liberty 1, No. 4 Lipscomb 0
A pitchers duel broke out in the first game of the day between the Bisons and the Flames, as Breana Burke and Emily Kirby had it going in the circle. Liberty threatened to score in the second inning when Madison Via hit a double to center field, putting Savannah Channell in motion to score all the way from first. However, a great defensive relay from Abby Davis to Amy Vetula to Kamrie Rich saw Channell get thrown out at the plate to keep the game scoreless.

After two more scoreless innings, the Flames took the lead in the fifth. Autumn Bishop was able to reach base by drawing a walk. Her sister, Amber Bishop, brought her in on a RBI single off the wall in right to make it a 1-0 contest.

The score would remain that way for the rest of the game as neither offense was able to get going due to stingy defense and great pitching from Burke and Kirby. Burke's final line read 6.0 IP, one earned run, seven hits, three strikeouts and three walks. Kirby tossed a complete-game shutout, held the Bisons to four hits and struck out six. It was the fourth time this season the Flames had held the Bisons scoreless.

No. 4 Lipscomb 8, No. 1 Liberty 7 (8 innings)
Facing elimination, the Bisons were able to come through with a thrilling, back-and-forth victory in the second game of the day. Due to injury and players not being available due to COVID protocols, Breana Burke was back in the circle for the Purple and Gold and gave a gutsy performance to help the Bisons stay alive.

Lipscomb got out ahead in the third inning with some timely two-out hitting. Abby Davis started it off with a walk and moved into scoring position by swiping second. Amy Vetula then singled up the middle to score Davis. After Vetula was able to steal second, Presley Leebrick followed suit with a single of her own to plate Vetula and make it a 2-0 ballgame.

The Flames answered back in the home half of the third with a solo home run from Autumn Bishop and a RBI double by Emily Sweat to knot the game at 2-2.

In the fifth the Lipscomb bats really came alive to regain the lead. With Davis, Vetula and Leebrick once again collecting base knocks to get the momentum going, and loading the bases, Caitlin Turner brought in a run on a sacrifice fly. Kamrie Rich followed with a RBI on a fielders choice as the speedy Vetula beat the throw home. Two more runs came in by way of a single down the left field line by Kaitlyn Woodside and a double from Kyndall Crawford, giving the Bisons a 6-2 lead.

The Flames countered right back in the bottom of the inning. A two-run homer off the bat of Amber Bishop cut the Lipscomb lead down to 6-4.

In the sixth, Liberty was able to plate one run on a base hit from Amber Bishop, which made it one-run contest and loaded the bases with two outs. Burke remained resilent in the circle for the Bisons, however, and delivered a clutch strikeout against Kara Canetto, Liberty's top hitter, to close the frame.

The Bisons were able to tag on an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Kamrie Rich drew a walk and was moved into scoring position after Olivia Ward was hit by a pitch. Meghan Kline was next to step into the batters box and came through with a single to left field, plating Rich and moving the score to 7-5.

Liberty refused to go away in the following frame. The Flames were able to load the bases once again due to back-to-back base knocks and a walk. Down to their final out, the Flames relied upon Caroline Hudson to extend the game and she did just that with a two-RBI single to tie the game at 7-7 and force extras.

It didn't take long for Lipscomb to get going in the eighth, as Leebrick lead things off with a double. She advanced to third on a groundout and was 60 feet away from giving the lead back to the Bisons when Woodside stepped into the box with two outs. After falling behind 1-2 in the count, Woodside made the most of her opportunity by just sending a bloop single over the head of the Liberty shortstop, allowing Leebrick to come home to put the Bisons back in front at 8-7.

Liberty was able to put runners on the corners with one out in the home half of the inning via a single, walk and stolen base, threatening the Lipscomb lead once again. Burke and the defense were able to come through, as Olivia Ward caught a line shot at third base and from her knees was able to double-up the runner at first to end the game. 

HERD NOTES:
  • Breana Burke displayed one of the greatest performances in program history over her two games in the circle. In two games Burke ended with 14.0 IP, 287 total pitches, eight strikeouts, faced 68 batters and kept the Lipscomb season alive with the game two win.
  • Presley Leebrick was on fire at the plate going 6-for-9 with a double, a RBI and two runs scored, while also making multiple defensive web-gems in left field.
  • In game two, Lipscomb outhit Liberty 16-12, which was the most hits surrendered by the Flames this season.
  • Before the third inning of the nightcap, Lipscomb had not scored a run again Liberty over the course of the season.
  • Abby Davis also had a solid day at the plate going 3-for-5 and two runs scored.
UP NEXT:
The Bisons and Flames will square-off in a winner-take-all rubber match to advance to the ASUN Championship Semifinals. First pitch from Lynchburg tomorrow is slated for noon CT.
 
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