Bryan College Triangle

by Sebastian Fischer
Staff Writer

Senior third-baseman J.D. Davis steps up to bat at the game against Asbury University this past Friday / Triangle photo by Catherine Rogers

The Bryan College baseball team expanded its winning record last weekend while hosting the Tennessee Valley Invitational. The Lions won their games against Indiana Wesleyan University (Marion, Ind.), Madonna University (Livonia, Mich.) and Berea College (Kent.). Their only loss was in a close game against Asbury College (Wilmore, Kent.).

“I was happy with the results [even though] I feel like we could have played better throughout the weekend. It’s important that we play well consistently, and I don’t think we’re quite there yet. But that’s good because we’re going through a process of trying to build and get better so that we’re playing our best baseball at the end of the season,” said Coach Taylor Hasty.

Bryan dominated the first game of the tournament Thursday night against the Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan University, winning with a final score of 6-2. After giving up two runs in the first inning, freshman Tyler Latham led the Lions to a clear win going 2-for-4 from the plate and recording two solo home runs.

In what appeared to be a close, high-scoring game, the Lions came up short against the Asbury Eagles in Friday nights match up. After seven highly competitive innings, the scoreboard recorded a final result of 13-11 for Asbury. According to Hasty, the Lions struggled defensively and on the mound. Read full story »

Daniel Jackson
Staff Writer

Junior pitcher Tanner Brown pitches the ball towards a Rio Grande hitter / Triangle photo by Catherine Rogers

Baseball is a summer sport. Fans should be scarfing down hot dogs and wearing t-shirts and baseball caps supporting their team. Instead, the fans watching the Lions’ games on Saturday traded the usual costume for blankets and parkas to guard against the cold.

The Red Storm baseball team from the University of Rio Grande (Ohio) swept in from the north to arrive in Dayton, ready to play their first games of the season at Bryan College. The Lions beat them once. And then beat them again.

The teams were scheduled to play one game Friday and the other two on Saturday, but a cold rain prevented the game Friday. The two games left were played back-to-back Saturday afternoon with the first game played to nine innings and the second to seven. Read full story »

by Catherine Rogers
Multimedia Editor

Senior forward Derek Batt taks a shot on the basket during last Wednesday's game against Tennessee Wesleyan College / Triangle photo by Daniel Jackson

After defeating the Tennessee (Athens) Wesleyan Bulldogs, 71-57, in a home game last Wednesday, the men’s varsity basketball team travelled to Bluefield (Va.) College on Saturday and gained their second win of the week with a score of 67-54.

“It’s our first win [at Bluefield] in the seven years I’ve been at Bryan,” said Head Coach Don Rekoske. “And when you’ve never won up there and you’re playing a team that’s only a game behind you in the conference you’re worried, but I thought we were extremely responsible defensively.”

In the first half, the Lions’ defense kept Bluefield shooting only 24 percent overall and built their lead to 12 points. The score at halftime was 28-16.

“We executed our game plan pretty well,” said senior forward Astral Guerrier. “We shut them down on the defensive end, we out rebounded them and we eliminated fast break points.”

The Lions advanced their lead to 19 points in the second half until the Rams cut it down to nine points just 26 seconds before the final buzzer.

“What really helped us, not only in this game but throughout the year, was bench play,” said Senior guard Xavierian McCall. “[Several players] came in and really gave us a lift.” Read full story »

by Billy Findley
Sports Editor

The Lions baseball team thoroughly dismantled the Crusaders of Tennessee Temple (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 16-6 Tuesday evening. With this victory, the Lions now have a record of 16 wins and 23 losses for their overall record. They are 7-8 in the AAC.

At bat, the Lions were a force Tuesday night. The team finished the game with 22 hits and two home runs with 16 runs total. This is the second highest total of runs they’ve scored in a game this season.

“We really manufactured runs tonight,” Head Coach Taylor Hasty said after the game. “I think our team is really dangerous because we can really hit.”

The game was close for the first three innings with Tennessee Temple ahead just 2 – 1. However, the Lions were able to make a break away in the bottom of the third with junior outfielder Josh King pounding a home run with two men on base. The Lions continued the surge and were leading 10 – 3 by the end of the fifth inning. Defensively, the team stood their ground, turning a “huge” double play at the top of the sixth, according to Hasty.

One strength Hasty said he has observed with the team this year is their concern for each other on the field.

“This team really loves each other,” Hasty said. “They are passionate about seeing one another succeed.”

“We’re just like brothers out there,” sophomore outfielder Shane Clawson said.

Clawson said he, like Hasty, has observed the team chemistry and commented that it is important as players to know “we’ve got each other’s back.”

With only 15 games left in the season, the Lions are currently ranked fifth in the AAC. However, as nice as it may be to land a good seat in the playoffs, placing well in the tournament is still not a primary goal just yet, according to Clawson. King said the team likes to take things just one at a time.

The strengths of the team have undoubtedly come through in their hitting, according to King. He said he thinks the batting coaches deserve a lot of credit this season for helping the hitters to shine at the plate.

Overall, the baseball team has played exceptionally better this year than last, according to Hasty. Hasty said he attributes the better playing, not to mention much better record, simply to better playing all around in the game and he expects to see good results throughout the rest of the season.

Sophomore Ryan Hill makes a pitch during this weeks series against Covenant.

by Ericka Simpson
Staff Writer

The Bryan College baseball team hosted Covenant College (Lookout Mountain, Ga.) at Senter Field in a three-game series on March 26 and 27, losing the first two games but winning the third.

Lions lose first game

The Lions fell to the Scots 8-2 in the first game, despite taking the lead in the first two innings. Senior first baseman Pablo Rodriguez hit a home run in the first inning, which was the highlight of the game according to Head Coach Taylor Hasty.

Freshman outfielder Kevin Layne scored the Lions’ second and final run in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI from junior outfielder Josh King, according to Hasty.

Junior pitcher Tyson Latham started the game on the mound, and pitched well, according to shortstop junior Jonathan Davis. Latham threw nine strikeouts.

According to Hasty, in the fourth inning Davis had an error and the Scots’ next hitter banged out a home run. The Lions could not recover from the Scots taking the lead.

Lions fall to Scots in the second game of the series

In the second game, the Lions lost 14-5 to the Scots. Hasty said the team did not “execute on defense,” and the Scots’ pitcher threw multiple strikes, which eventually led to Bryan’s second loss.

“We did not make adjustments to the pitcher,” Hasty said. “We were really anxious on offense all weekend and as a result, we lost.

According to Davis, the game was “all around an ugly game.” The Lions were not consistent in offense, defense or pitching. Read full story »