#1 Lipscomb Captures Third @ASUNBSB Championship Crown After 12-6 Win Over #2 FGCU
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The Basics
Score: #1 Lipscomb 12, #2 FGCU 6
Records: Lipscomb (36-24) | FGCU (42-18)
Location: Melching Field at Conrad Park (DeLand, Fla.)
DELAND, Fla. – Alex Vergara tied a Championship Final record of three home runs as top-seeded Lipscomb out-homered #2 FGCU on Sunday afternoon in the ASUN Conference Baseball Championship Final, 12-6, to claim the program's third league banner and first since 2015.
With the victory over the Eagles, the Bisons (36-24) complete the ASUN sweep as both the regular and postseason champions for the 2023 campaign. The win also secures their automatic berth in the 2023 NCAA Baseball Championship as the representative of the ASUN. Mason Lundgrin got the fireworks started in the first inning with a solo shot for a 1-0 lead for the Bisons, and then the cushion grew to 5-0 after blasts off the bats of Caleb Ketchup and Vergara in the second frame. ASUN Player of the Year Edrick Felix got FGCU into the action with a three-run shot in the third to move the score to 5-3, but a two-RBI double from Jake Berg and another solo connection from Vergara pushed the score back to a five-run difference for the Bisons (8-3) after four innings of play.
The Bisons would then hit double-digit runs after a sac fly and the third moonshot of the day from Vergara – a three-run crank to center field for a 12-3 lead in the fifth. For the Eagles, no deficit is safe, as Felix sent his second of the day over the fence and was followed closely by Joe Kinker going yard to make it 12-6 in the sixth. The scoreboard would stay quiet the rest of the way as neither team touched home plate again. Michael Dunkelberger got the win on the mound after 5.1 innings pitched and five strikeouts, while Ethan Smith put a bow on the outing with two innings of work to send the Bisons into a celebration on the field.
Be sure to follow @ASUNBSB on Twitter for live updates throughout the postseason.
Key Notes
- The Bisons are again ASUN Champions after their 12-6 win; it's their first league banner since 2015 and their third overall
- Alex Vergara hit three home runs in the victory; he is the first to hit three homers in a championship final since 1990 (Todd Greene, Georgia Southern vs. Centenary)
- The team started pool play 0-2 and fought its way back to the crown; Kennesaw State accomplished the same feat in 2022
2023 ASUN Championship All-Tournament Team
Alex Vergara, Lipscomb (MVP)
Austin Kelly, Lipscomb
Caleb Ketchup, Lipscomb
Mason Lundgrin, Lipscomb
Trace Willhoite, Lipscomb
Brian Ellis, FGCU
Alejandro Figueredo, FGCU
Trevor Kole, FGCU
LJ McDonough, FGCU
Derrick Jackson Jr., Jacksonville State
John Simmons, Liberty
Up Next
#1 Lipscomb advances to the 2023 NCAA Baseball Championship with the field of 64 teams that compete for the title being announced on ESPN2 at Noon ET on Monday, May 29.
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The ASUN, a Division I conference member of the NCAA, boasts a membership of institutions that share visionary leadership, bold ambition and creative innovation. As a nimble adaptive conference, unafraid to blaze a national pathway for better service to our student-athletes, teams, and institutions, the ASUN has a proud history of firsts, national academic and athletic achievements and a conference culture that walks the walk with its four ASUN Beams. Students First! Rise. Connect. Impact. #ASUNBuilt by Austin Peay (Clarksville, Tenn.), Bellarmine (Louisville, Ky.), Central Arkansas (Conway, Ark.), EKU (Richmond, Ky.), FGCU (Fort Myers, Fla.), Jacksonville (Fla.), Jax State (Jacksonville, Ala.), Kennesaw State (Ga.), Liberty (Lynchburg, Va.), Lipscomb (Nashville, Tenn.), North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.), Queens (Charlotte, N.C.) and Stetson (DeLand, Fla.).