Bisons Pound 20 Hits to Even Series With UCA at Bear Stadium

CONWAY, Ark. — Lipscomb wasted no time making their presence known at Bear Stadium on Friday night.

The Bisons jumped on Central Arkansas early and never let up in a 16-5 victory that evened the three-game ASUN Conference series at one game apiece.

The Bears entered the game 30-24 overall and 17-12 in conference play. Lipscomb came in at 25-24 on the year but 18-11 in league games and its bats backed up that conference form in a big way.

Lipscomb’s Blake Carter got things started in the first inning with a two-run home run that was part of a four-run burst to open the game.

UCA answered right away when Nate Negre launched a solo home run to make it 4-1 after the first inning.

The Bears weren’t done in the second. Jack Runsick singled to set the table and Casey Shipley followed with a two-run home run, trimming the deficit to 4-3 and giving the Conway crowd reason to believe a comeback was within reach.

Bisons’ offense keeps rolling through middle innings

Lipscomb’s Kai Holm added a sacrifice fly in the third inning, scoring Jordan Thomas to push the lead back to 5-3.

The Bisons then put the game further out of reach in the fifth with three more runs, including a solo home run by Aaron Stelogeannis, stretching it to 8-3.

The seventh inning brought another four-run salvo from the Bisons, with Cole Pippenger’s two-run homer doing much of the damage and sending the score to 12-3.

It was that kind of night for UCA’s pitching staff, which struggled to contain a Lipscomb lineup that finished with 20 hits and zero errors.

Jake Jones took the loss, dropping to 4-4 on the season after giving up nine hits and seven earned runs across four innings while throwing 66 pitches.

Kannon Nesslage followed with three innings of work, allowing five hits and five earned runs.

Austin Jones then pitched 1⅔ innings, yielding six hits and four earned runs while striking out two. Tobin Cantrill closed things out by retiring the only batter he faced.

The Bears did show some fight in the eighth inning.

Zeb Allen delivered a sacrifice fly and Parker Gwyn added an RBI single to make it 12-5, giving fans something to cheer during what had become a difficult evening.

But Lipscomb put the contest away for good with four more runs in the ninth, sealing the 16-5 final.

Despite the loss, UCA did put together 14 hits of its own. Runsick, Negre, Gwyn and Mark Ross each recorded two hits.

Shipley’s two-run homer in the second remained the biggest offensive moment for the Bears and he finished with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Jace Trautner earned the win for Lipscomb to improve to 1-3, while Jackson Lee picked up his third save of the season.

Senior Day showdown awaits Saturday at Bear Stadium

The series finale is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, May 16 and it carries added significance for the Bears.

The game serves as Senior Day, the final regular season home game and the last home game UCA will play as a member of the ASUN Conference.

The game will be available to watch on ESPN+ and to hear on The Bear 91.3.

Lipscomb holds both the series edge and the better conference record heading into Saturday’s deciding matchup.

For the Bears, it’s a chance to earn a split in a series that got away from them Friday night.