The weather was miserable but Lipscomb Bisons pitcher Rex Brothers was superb.
Brothers, 3-1, pitched a complete game 3-0 shutout against USC-Upstate in an Atlantic Sun game Saturday afternoon at wet and gray Ken Dugan Field at Stephen L. Marsh Stadium.
Originally scheduled to be a doubleheader, the second game was postponed until Sunday. The two teams will meet at noon in an attempt to complete the three-game series that has been hampered by cold and wet conditions since Friday.
Brothers, a junior left-hander, struck out a career-high 13 batters. He had previously struck out 11 April 7, 2007 at Mercer. He only gave up four hits.
“Rex was really on,” said Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand. “He was consistent. He was getting both his fastball and slider into the strike zone.”
Every time Brothers pitches there are a number of professional scouts watching his every move and recording the speed of every pitch.
“Rex is a good pitcher even when he is not in the strike zone consistently like he was in this game,” said Forehand. “But when he is challenging you with a 90-plus miles per hour fastball and his breaking ball it’s hard to get good contact against him.”
It was the second shutout of the season for the Bisons, but the first complete game shutout.
Offensively, the Bisons only had five hits against USC Upstate starter Matt Branham and reliever Tim Fournier.
Two of those hits were home runs, one each from Antonio Butler and Justin Sanders in the sixth inning.
Jay Moreland opened the inning when he reached base on an error by the left fielder. Butler brought him home with his first collegiate home run. With two outs Sanders hit a solo shot, his second of the season.
It was Butler’s fourth multiple RBI game. He leads the team in that category.
“Antonio is young and he is learning,” said Forehand. “We have to give him some more opportunities to get his confidence level up.
“He has some tools. He can really run.”
Sanders has been the offensive leader for the Bisons since the first game of the season. He is at or near the top in most offensive categories in the conference.
“Justin is a tough out,” said Forehand. “He has been our offensive guy so far. We would like to see what could happen if we got him some more help.”
Ryan Wilkins had one hit, extending his streak to five games. He has the longest current heading streak on the team.
Senior right-hander Brandon McClurg (1-1, 2.81) is scheduled to start the first game Sunday. Junior right-hander Josh Smith (1-0, 4.26) will be on the mound for the second game
The Bisons are 6-8, 3-1 in the A-Sun. USC Upstate is 5-8, 1-3 in the conference.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - With two of the best pitchers in the Atlantic Sun Conference on the mound, Saturday afternoon's game between the raindrops at Ken Dugan Field was even better than advertised. Nine hits. 20 strikeouts. Only three runners got past second base.
Unfortunately for the USC Upstate baseball team, all three runners scored for Lipscomb in the bottom of the sixth innings, as the Bisons survived Upstate's second straight five-hitter to win, 3-0, in the opener of the three-game conference set.
Neither team was able to create any offense through the first five innings. The teams combined for just four hits, two off both Rex Brothers, Lipscomb's ace southpaw, and Upstate junior Matt Branham (Columbia, S.C./Spring Valley).
In the top of the sixth, Upstate (5-8 overall, 1-3 A-Sun) got its first of two runners to second base off Brothers, who struck out the side in the second and retired 12 in a row before senior Eric Guillen (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Thousand Oaks) hit a two-out double to center field. After a walk, Brothers hunkered down to get a strikeout and end the inning.
Finally, in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Bisons (6-8 overall, 3-1 A-Sun) broke through, thanks to a leadoff fly ball that turned into a three-base error. The Bisons' ninth-batter, Antonio Butler, followed with an opposite field shot that barely cleared the fence and with two outs, the Bisons leading hitter, Justin Sanders, hit a homer to left-center, helping Lipscomb to a 3-0 lead.
Brothers retired eight in a row after the sixth inning walk before sophomore Blake Green (Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern) walked with one out in the ninth. The Bisons got a stroke of luck as junior Jimmy Tanner (Fayetteville, Ga./Starr's Mill) hit a ball that appeared headed through the right side when it hit Green in the leg for the second out. Senior Phillip Morgan (Campobello, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist) singled through the left side and then freshman Jeff Medley (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) hit a grounder to third and the throw to first just barely cut him down at first to end the game.
Brothers (3-1) threw the complete nine innings, allowing four hits for the first shutout against the Spartans in the Division I era. He struck out 13 and walked two, as he shut out the Spartans for the first time since Presbyterian held down Upstate, 4-0, on Feb. 17, 2007.
Branham (0-2) looked sharp, as he posted his second quality start of the season for Upstate. He allowed just four hits and one earned run in his seven innings, as he struck out six. He walked three, but faced just one over the minimum through the first five innings, as he benefited from a pickoff, a caught stealing and a double play.
Sophomore Tim Fournier (Seneca, S.C./Walhalla) threw a scoreless eighth, allowing a hit and striking out one.
No batter had more than one hit in the game, but Sanders and Butler each hit homers for Lipscomb.