NASHVILLE – Despite six innings of no-hit baseball by
Cole O'Brien, the bats went quiet for Lipscomb University, as the Baseball program fell 3-1 to the University of Dayton to force a rubber match in the 2026 opening series, Saturday from Ken Dugan Field at Stephen Lee Marsh Stadium.
Final Score: Dayton 3, Lipscomb 1
Location: Nashville, Tennessee (Ken Dugan Field at Stephen Lee Marsh Stadium)
Records: Lipscomb (1-1), Dayton (1-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The bats stayed quiet on both sides through the first five innings of play. On the mound for the Bisons,
Cole O'Brien mowed down 15 of the first 16 batters he faced. In the sixth, after a hit by pitch by Bobby Stang to start the frame, Danny MacDougal grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to clear the bases.
Despite a lengthy at-bat that resulted in a walk by Jason Bello after the twin killing, Tommy Ahlers grounded out to
Brady Miller to keep the Flyers off the scoreboard.
On the other side, Niklas Pavia, after escaping the first where he defense allowed two errors, he rallied to set down 12 of the last 13 he faced going into the bottom half of the sixth. After setting down the first two Bisons, Miller kept the frame alive with a four-pitch walk. After stealing second to get in scoring position,
Cam Pruitt laced an RBI base hit up the middle to put the home squad on top.
After six no-hit innings by O'Brien, the Bisons decide to go to the bullpen and bring out
Jace Trautner. A lead-off bunt single by Sam Stem and a stolen base and sac bunt put him 90 feet away from tying the game. However, Martin Howell launched a long ball to left to flip the score over to the Flyers, 2-1.
After a strikeout and an infield single, Stang added on with an RBI double to make it a 3-1 score.
The Bisons had the chance to make things interesting in the bottom half of the seventh, as they loaded the bases on a
Blake Carter double and back-to-back walks from
Jacob Tobias and
Danny Ramirez. With one out, the Bisons couldn't get off the schneid at the plate with an infield fly and a strikeout.
Despite a ninth-inning single by
Kai Holm, the Bisons were able to take care of business and will look to take the series in the rubber match on Sunday.
KEY STATISTICS
Facing two batters over the minimum,
Cole O'Brien retired four strikeouts in six innings with no hits allowed. Forty-five of his 69 pitches found the zone.
Cam Pruitt posted the RBI single for the Bisons in the loss.
UP NEXT
The series finale will take place on Sunday afternoon. Due to the rain, the first pitch has been pushed back to 1 p.m.
