Bisons open ASUN tournament with dominant 4-1 victory over FGCU
Lipscomb baseball continued its momentum from the ASUN Gold Division championship into the postseason with a 4-1 win over Florida Gulf Coast baseball on Thursday in the opening round of the ASUN Tournament at Melching Field at Conrad Park.
Lipscomb got a strong start from senior pitcher Alexander Llinas, who used a three-run fifth inning to secure the victory.
The Bisons scored the game’s first run in the third inning. Senior utility player Aaron Stelogeannis started the rally with a single through the left side, and junior infielder Cam Pruitt followed with a double down the right-field line. Junior outfielder Jordan Thomas then brought Stelogeannis home on a groundout to second base to make it 1-0.
After Llinas worked through the early innings without allowing a hit, the Bisons broke through again in the fifth. Stelogeannis started by drawing a walk, and Pruitt followed with his second double of the game, driving in Stelogeannis. Thomas then added an RBI single up the middle, stole second and scored on an RBI double by graduate infielder Kai Holm down the left-field line to extend the lead to 4-0.
Llinas kept the Eagles off the scoreboard until the eighth, when Florida Gulf Coast scored its only run on an RBI single by junior outfielder Evan Dempsey. Redshirt sophomore pitcher Adam Jamison entered with two runners on and limited the damage with a key strikeout to strand the tying runs.
In the ninth, graduate pitcher Kaleb Kantola took the mound to close it out. Kantola struck out the first two batters he faced before inducing a game-ending foul out down the left-field line to seal the win.
The Bisons will look to keep the momentum going today when they return to Melching Field for a matchup against North Alabama. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Featured image courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics
