DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University fought off a late rally by Tufts University to pick up an 11-10 victory on Tuesday afternoon at Owen-Fulton Field.
 
Behind 11-4, down to its final two outs, Tufts used a six-run ninth inning to make things interesting. The Jumbos' Cody McCallum got things started with a one-out double through the left side that scored a run on the play. After a single and a hit batter put runners on second and third base, Bryan Egan knocked an RBI single that cut the Jumbos' deficit down to five. A pair of RBI singles got Tufts within three and back-to-back bases loaded walks cut Averett's lead to one. However, junior relief pitcher Brandon Goff got McCallum to pop up to the catcher to end the game, earning his first save of the season.
 
Averett (12-6) exploded for nine runs between the third and fourth innings, which helped it hold off the Jumbos. Trailing 4-0 going into the bottom of the third, sophomore Hunter Ashworth's first career homerun — a solo shot to left field — got Averett on the board. Four batters later, junior Nic Futrell's two-run double to right-center cut Tufts lead to one. Junior Drew Evans followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to right to tie the game, and the Cougars went ahead when Futrell stole third and hustled home when Egan's throw skipped past the Jumbos' third baseman.
 
The Cougars struck again in the fourth, picking up four runs to take a 9-4 lead. Freshman Kyle Vidano drew a two-out walk and senior J.T. Crowder singled to short to put runners on first and second. Moments later, senior Taylor Davis brought home Vidano with an RBI single through the right side. After a Jumbos pitching change, senior Kevin Alvarez crushed a three-run shot to left to put Averett ahead by five.
 
Tufts (3-2) jumped out on top of Averett early, posting a run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 advantage on Egan's RBI single down the middle. The Jumbos used a two-run triple to right field and an RBI groundout to short to add three more runs in the second to pad their cushion to four. Tufts had another chance to add a pair of insurance runs in the third, but senior left-hander Timothy Coston got a pair of strikeouts and forced the Jumbos' Harry Brown to pop up to the catcher to end the threat.
 
Averett picked up the eventual game-winning runs in the seventh and eighth to increase its lead to 11-4.
 
Coston (3-1) picked up the victory, going 8.1 innings and striking out nine.
 
Alvarez, Futrell, and Evans each recorded a pair of hits and RBI's in the victory.  Ashworth paced the Cougars with three hits on the afternoon.
 
Averett returns to the field on March 21 when it battles Huntingdon College in a USA South doubleheader at 12 p.m. at Owen-Fulton Field.