TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Lipscomb softball opened their 2023 season with two hard-fought losses against No. 4 Florida State to open the JoAnne Graf Classic in Tallahassee this afternoon. The Bisons dropped a 3-0 loss in game one and lost 4-1 in the second game.
GAME ONE | #4 FLORIDA STATE 3, LIPSCOMB 0
Lipscomb nearly opened the scoring in the top of the second inning as
Maci Cunconan singled to left field with two outs to give the Bisons their first base runner. After Florida State was able to get the third and final out of the half inning, the Seminoles put together a two-run on two-hit inning to capture the early lead.
The lead remained 2-0 until the bottom of the fifth inning when Florida State used a Lipscomb error to extend the deficit to 3-0. The Seminoles nearly broke through again in the bottom of the sixth inning, but a catch in foul territory by
Kaylyn Belfield kept the score intact.
Florida State held the Bisons in check in the final half inning to earn the victory on opening day.
Emily Yakubowski (0-1) took the loss in the circle for Lipscomb, allowing two earned runs on four hits in 4.0 innings of work.
Laine Barefoot only surrendered one hit in two innings of relief for the Bisons.
The Seminoles' Kathryn Sandercock picked up the win by allowing only one hit in seven innings of work.
GAME TWO | #4 FLORIDA STATE 4, LIPSCOMB 1
After two scoreless innings to open up the later game, Florida State broke through first by scoring a run off an RBI double in the bottom of the third to take the early lead. The Bisons responded in the top of the fifth inning as
Jack Busch took the first pitch she saw and sent it over the left-field fence to even the score up at 1-1.
Florida State nearly reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Belfield made another terrific catch, this time diving into shallow left, to hold the score at 1-1
The Seminoles tallied three runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth and held Lipscomb scoreless in the top of the seventh to complete the non-conference victory.
Kate Peters (0-1) was credited with the loss in the circle in the second game, allowing three earned runs on six hits in five innings of work. Barefoot gave up one earned run on two hits in an inning of relief for the Bisons.
Belfield and Busch both recorded a hit for Lipscomb in the later game, with Busch tallying her first home run as a Bison.
UP NEXT
The Bison will continue the JoAnne Graf Classic tomorrow as they battle Purdue at 10:15 a.m. CT in Tallahassee, Florida.
