Final Score: Lipscomb: 12, Kennesaw State: 10
Location: Ft. Myers, Fla. (Swanson Stadium)
Records: Lipscomb: 35-20, Kennesaw State: 32-25
THE SHORT STORY
Lipscomb Baseball mounted an epic ninth-inning comeback capped off by a walk off home run by
Maddux Houghton to defeat Kennesaw State 12-10 and open ASUN Tournament pool play 1-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After two quick outs, Kennesaw State took an early lead in the top of the first after a pair of walks and a home run gave it a 3-0 lead. After a couple more free passes, the Owls took advantage of a Lipscomb error for another run, this one unearned, for a 4-0 lead after the top of the first.
The Bisons answered with a pair of run on three hits in the bottom of the inning to quickly cut the KSU lead in half.
Maddux Houghton started the rally with a one-out triple before a lightning strike sent the game to a weather delay. After an hour and 15-minute delay,
Mason Lundgrin stepped up to the plate and quickly got Lipscomb on the board with an RBI double. The lead was cut in half when
Rudy Maxwell connected on a two-out single up the middle to score Lundgrin for a 4-2 Kennesaw State lead after the first inning.
Noah Thompson came out of the bullpen for the final out in the first inning and remained on the hill for the top of the second and held Kennesaw State scoreless. In the bottom of the inning, Lipscomb closed in on the Owls even further. Leadoff man
John Shields worked a walk and advanced to scoring position on an error. A sacrifice bunt from
Chaz Bertolani later in the inning pushed Shields to third where he later scored on a sacrifice fly to cut into the KSU lead 4-3.
Lipscomb kept the momentum in the top of the third as the Defensive Player of the Year,
Caleb Ketchup, recorded two assists and a putout to retire the Owls in order keeping things close heading into the home half of the third.
The Bisons tied things up in the bottom of the third after back-to-back base knocks from
Malik Williams and
Rudy Maxwell to start the inning off. After Williams advanced to third on a ground ball,
John Shields picked up an RBI and tied the game with a single through the right side for a 4-4 game after the third inning.
Kennesaw State retook the lead in the top of the fourth with a solo home run for a 5-4 lead before the game was delayed yet again due to lightning. After another delay of more than an hour, Lipscomb went back to the field on offense. Ketchup notched a one-out double but was stranded.
The Owls added another run in the top of the fifth with a pair of hits for a 6-4 lead.
Lipscomb punched back yet again in the bottom of the fifth to tie it back up. Maxwell worked a one-out walk to put
Trace Willhoite at the plate as the tying run. On the eighth pitch of an impressive at-bat, Willhoite hammered a ball over the left field fence for a 6-6 game. His 17
th long ball of the season tied a Lipscomb record for single-season home runs.
The Owls threatened to take the lead once again in the top of the sixth, loading the bases with two outs, but
Matthew Bohnert came out of the bullpen and forced a fly ball to get out of the inning unscathed. Bohnert stayed in the game in the top of the seventh and kept the Owls at bay to keep things tied heading into the bottom of the seventh.
The bottom of the seventh started with a strikeout, but Williams knocked a double and Maxwell reached on an error to put the go-ahead runs at second and third with one out. Kennesaw State then went to its bullpen and a pair of strikeouts ended the inning with no damage for Lipscomb as the game would remain tied.
Kennesaw State surged back to a 10-6 lead in the top of the eighth with four runs on five hits in the inning.
Needing four runs to keep the game going, Williams led off the bottom of the ninth and hammered a ball over the left field fence to quickly get a run back, but the next two batters quickly got out and the Bisons were down to its last out.
Lipscomb, however, never lost its fight and Shields and
Ethan Stamps got a rally going with back-to-back base knocks to bring the tying run to home plate. Pinch hitter
Cam McMillan swung at the first pitch he saw with a double to score both runners and pull Lipscomb within a run. Ketchup kept the rally going working a walk and Houghton became the hero when he smoked the first pitch he saw over the left field fence for a walk off three-run home run and the 12-10 victory to open ASUN Tournament pool play.
HERD NOTES
- Houghton and Williams had three hits apiece, each with a home run.
- Houghton had three RBI while Willhoite and McMillan had a pair each.
- Lipscomb out-hit the Owls 16-12 while each team had two errors.
- John Cheatwood pitched the final 1.1 innings to pick up the win.
UP NEXT
Lipscomb will continue its ASUN Tournament bid Wednesday, May 25 against No. 4 FGCU. First pitch at Swanson Stadium is slated for 2 p.m. CT.
