RICHMOND, Ky. – The Lipscomb University baseball team used small ball and a career-high 10 strikeouts by Rigo Ramos to hold off Eastern Kentucky University in a Saturday night game, 6-5, Saturday evening from Earle Combs Stadium.

Final Score: Lipscomb 6, Eastern Kentucky 5
Location: Richmond, Kentucky (Earle Combs Stadium)
Records: Lipscomb (14-19, 7-7), Eastern Kentucky (7-29, 4-10)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Rigo Ramos retired six of the first seven batters he faced to start the game, including striking out the side in the second, the Bisons took advantage of some small ball to start a rally. 

Casey Sunseri started the third with a four-pitch walk, Aaron Stelogeannis induced a sac bunt to move Sunseri to second base. After a groundout by Collin Goda to move him to third, Brady Miller put the Bisons on the board first with an RBI double. 

Jake Berg followed two pitches later with a single to right-center field to score Miller. 

Following a walk from Parks Bouck, David Coppedge made it 3-0 with his ground-rule double. 

In the bottom of the third, after a one-out single and error, an infield fly and a 10-pitch strikeout from Tait Nunnally from Ramos ended the threat. 

The small ball efforts by Lipscomb continued in the fourth. After another walk by Sunseri and a free pass by Stelogeannis, back-to-back sacrifices by Goda and Miller saw Sunseri score to increase the lead to 4-0. 

In the fourth, Ramos continued to deal on the bump, as he struck out the side for the second straight inning. 

Lipscomb tacked on a run in the fifth thanks to a sacrifice fly by Kai Holm to score Parks Bouck, who started the frame with a double. 

In the sixth, Stelogeannis made it two straight innings that the Bisons led off with a double, and he followed suit similar to Bouck in the fifth. After Goda's second sac bunt moved Stelogeannis to third, Miller's third RBI of the game came on a groundout to shortstop to lead 6-0. 

In the sixth, despite the Colonels scoring two in the inning off Ramos, the graduate student retired AJ Groeneveld and Boone Shevey for his ninth and 10th strikeouts of the game. With two outs, Jackson Ginther tried to take second base, but Jake Berg gunned him down to end the threat. 

The Colonels added three more in the seventh to trim the deficit to 6-5. EKU tried to tie the game in the eighth with a runner at first, but Berg took him down for his second caught stealing effort of the night. 

In the ninth, the Bisons and Brock Puckett danced around a two-out walk and error to preserve the win. 

KEY STATISTICS
Rigo Ramos (2-4) took down 10 batters on strikeouts Saturday night, going six innings of two-run ball. The strikeout performance marked a new career high for the graduate student, surpassing his previous high of nine while with Bowling Green State last year. 

Brock Puckett earned his second save with two strikeouts and dancing around a two-out walk and an error. 

In the lineup, eight of the starting nine reached base. Damion Kenealy and David Coppedge each had two hits. Brady Miller, Parks Bouck, Coppedge and Aaron Stelogeannis each had a double. 

Along with his double, Miller walked twice and recorded his first multi-RBI game with three from the leadoff spot. 

Casey Sunseri reached three times via the free pass and scored on two instances. 

HERD NOTES
Rigo Ramos tossed 10 strikeouts in a game, setting a new career high. This marked the first time a Bisons baseball player has retired double figures via the strikeout since Braydon Tucker struck out 12 in the NCAA Clemson Regional on June 3, 2023 versus Charlotte.

Lipscomb induced four sacrifice bunts on the night, led by Collin Goda. It marked the eighth time the Bisons had four bunts in a game, with the last coming on March 29, 2019 against Kennesaw State. The Bisons missed the Division I record by one when they had five against Stetson in 2015.

UP NEXT
The rubber match will happen on Sunday afternoon from Richmond, Kentucky.