RICHMOND, Ky. – The Lipscomb University baseball team used a five-run sixth inning to win the rubber match of an Atlantic Sun Conference series with Eastern Kentucky University by a 9-4 score inside Earle Combs Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Final Score: Lipscomb 9, Eastern Kentucky 4
Location: Richmond, Kentucky (Earle Combs Stadium)
Records: Lipscomb (15-19, 8-7), Eastern Kentucky (7-30, 4-11)
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless first inning on both sides,
Aaron Stelogeannis, with two down in the second, launched his second home run of the season to get the Bisons on the board first.
However, Eastern Kentucky evened the score in the bottom half thanks to two Lipscomb errors in the inning.
EKU claimed the lead in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single by Colby Ott. After the Colonels loaded the bases later in the inning, the Bisons went to the bullpen in
Joey Mitchell. His first batter would be the final one in the inning, as Diego Alana looked at a third strike.
In the top of the fifth, Lipscomb pulled even again. After Stelogeannis led off with a ground-rule double and a
Collin Goda sac bunt,
Brady Miller's hit through the left side made it a 2-2 score.
The back-and-forth battle continued in the bottom of the fifth, as EKU reclaimed the lead thanks to a Greg Caban double.
However, Lipscomb was ready to get back to the plate in the sixth. The Bisons loaded the bases to start the frame with an infield hit by
Kai Holm and hit by pitches from
Damion Kenealy Jr. and
Casey Sunseri. After a strikeout, the Bisons turned to their bench and
Jacob Tobias. The sophomore, who entered the weekend 1-for-3 in pinch hit appearances, shot a two-run double to right field to give the Bisons the 4-3 lead.
On the very next pitch, Miller cleared the bases with a two-run triple down the right field line to make it 6-3.
Next,
Jake Berg added an insurance run with an RBI groundout for the 7-3 advantage.
EKU got one back in the bottom half, but a fly out by Silas Shaffer left the bases loaded for the Colonels.
Lipscomb took advantage in the seventh with two more runs to put the game away. Kenealy had an RBI double, and after moving to third on a Sunseri double, he later scored the ninth run of the game on a wild pitch.
KEY STATISTICS
After recording his first multi-RBI game on Saturday,
Brady Miller matched it on Sunday with back-to-back three-RBI performances, adding two hits, including a triple.
Aaron Stelogeannis's two hits on the afternoon were both extra bases: a double and home run. He scored on both instances.
Jacob Tobias added a pinch-hit, two-RBI double.
Joey Mitchell, (2-0) who came into the game in the fourth with the bases loaded, ended the EKU threat with a strikeout. He tossed 2.1 innings of relief with three strikeouts.
After Lipscomb added two insurance runs in the seventh,
Jake Lynch and
Cameron Guise slammed the door with three shutout innings and two strikeouts each.
UP NEXT
The Bisons will have one more home contest in the nine-game stretch on Tuesday when they head to West End to face No. 17 Vanderbilt.
