ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Averett University baseball earned a pair of conference road wins on Monday afternoon, sweeping a doubleheader with N.C. Wesleyan College at Bauer Field. The Cougars defeated N.C. Wesleyan 8-7 in the first game, and then downed the Battling Bishops 7-5 in the second game to complete the three-game series sweep.
 
Leading the opener 8-6 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, Averett (5-3, 4-2 USA South) fought off a late rally from N.C. Wesleyan (2-8, 2-7 USA South) to preserve the victory. After a walk and double to right-center put runners on second and third base for the Battling Bishops, an RBI groundout to first brought one runner home, cutting Averett's advantage to 8-7. However, junior right-hander Drew Evans got Jefferson Knight to strikeout, ending the rally to earn his second save of the season.
 
Despite the close finish, Averett jumped out on top of N.C. Wesleyan 4-0 thanks to a three-run top of the second. Sophomore Hunter Ashworth smashed a double to right-center, scoring senior Nic Futrell from third base to extend Averett's lead to 2-0. The Cougars added two more runs in the frame on freshman Kyle Vidano's RBI groundout and senior J.T. Crowder's RBI single to left field.
 
N.C. Wesleyan answered, cutting the Cougars' lead to 4-2 with the help of a throwing error and a fielder's choice RBI in the bottom half of the second. Averett, though, added a pair of runs in the third and one in the fourth to push its lead to 7-2 going into the bottom of the sixth.  Once again, the Battling Bishops fought back, using a four-run bottom of the sixth to get within one run.

Averett added what proved to be a valuable insurance run in the eighth inning when Ashworth scored on a passed ball, giving the Cougars an 8-6 advantage.
 
Senior left-hander Timothy Coston (1-1) picked up the victory for Averett in 5.1 innings of work. Senior Jeffrey Younkins, sophomore Gavin Horton and junior Kyle Walsh combined to pitch 2.2 innings of scoreless relief before Evans closed the door in the ninth.
 
Offensively, the Cougars were led in Game 1 by senior Kevin Alvarez, who finished the game 3-for-4 with an RBI. Freshman Kyle Vidano went 3-for-5 with an RBI and Ashworth was 2-for-2, while also driving in a run.
 
The nightcap saw the Cougars take a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning thanks to Taylor Davis' RBI triple to right field and Alvarez's RBI grounder to shortstop. Yet, the Battling Bishops cut the Cougars' lead in half in the bottom of the frame when Ciro Norzagaray scored on a wild pitch, cutting N.C. Wesleyan's deficit to 2-1.
 
N.C. Wesleyan took the lead in the sixth when a single and an Averett throwing error brought a run in, giving the Battling Bishops a 3-2 lead. This time, however, it was the Cougars who rallied in the seventh to reestablish their lead, using an RBI single by freshman B.J. Purnell and a two-run double by Vidano to push their lead to 5-3. Averett added a pair of runs in the eighth to extend its lead to 7-3.

Junior T.J. Viracola (1-1) went the distance for Averett, striking out four, while scattering six hits.

Averett defeated N.C. Wesleyan 3-1 on Saturday in the first game of the series, which was finished on Monday after it was rained out on Sunday.
 
The Cougars take the field again Tuesday when they host Hampden-Sydney College at 2 p.m. at Owen-Fulton Field in a rescheduled game from Feb. 18.