Lipscomb stuns Georgia on Bulldogs' home field

Friday, May 30, 2008 at 7:14pm

Wilkins

Fourth-seeded Lipscomb shocked top-seeded Georgia 10-7 on Friday in NCAA Tournament play in Athens, Ga. Georgia won the regular-season Southeastern Conference championship.

Friday's game marked Lipscomb's first NCAA Tournament appearance in any sport.

The Bisons [33-28] utilized a four-run fifth inning that broke up a 4-4 tie en route to the victory. Lipscomb starting pitcher Rex Brothers [4-5], earned the win after tossing 5 1/3 innings allowing six runs, just two earned, on nine hits. Georgia starter Stephen Dodson [5-4] suffered the loss after allowing eight runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Junior Kyle Tognazzini worked the final 1 2/3 innings for Lipscomb allowing just one hit to earn his fourth save of the year.

"I don’t know where to start describing how proud I am of our guys,” Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand said. "Coming in here versus a team like Georgia, all you want is a chance at the end.

"I didn’t know how to prepare for a regional because we have never been to a regional. I felt confident in our team after getting out of the first inning and battling back and scoring some runs. We really settled in, our pitching got better, we kept our composure and were able to battle back and win this huge game."

Lipscomb produced 10 hits, including three home runs. Senior Blake Bratcher went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI, including the go-ahead RBI single in the fifth inning. Ryan Wilkins, a Pope John Paul II High product, went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run that capped the four-run fifth and proved to be the game-winning hit.

Georgia led the game 4-1 after the first inning, but Lipscomb battled back over the next two innings scoring a run in the second and two runs in the third to tie the contest. After breaking the tie with the four runs in the fifth, the Bisons added another run on a wild pitch in the sixth to extend the lead to 9-4.

Athens Regional schedule

Friday

Lipscomb 10, Georgia 7

Goergia Tech 8, Louisville 5

Saturday

2 p.m. -- Georgia vs. Louisville (loser eliminated)

6 p.m. -- Lipscomb vs. Georgia Tech

Sunday

1 p.m. -- Loser of Game 4 vs. winner of Game 3

5 p.m. -- Winner of Game 4 vs. winner of Game 5

Monday (If Necessary)

6 p.m. -- Repeat of Game 6