DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University baseball completed its three-game sweep of Huntingdon College with a 10-6 victory on Sunday afternoon at Owen-Fulton Field. The sweep puts Averett in sole possession of first place in the USA South Conference standings.
 
Averett (15-6, 11-4 USA South) used a three-run first inning to gain the early edge. After freshman Kyle Vidano walked and stole second to get into scoring position, senior Taylor Davis brought Vidano home with a double to right to put Averett on the board. Senior Kevin Alvarez followed with a double to right-center that scored Davis, making it 2-0. The Cougars added an insurance run when senior Timothy Coston plated Alvarez with an RBI single up the middle to give the Cougars a three-run advantage.
 
Huntingdon (14-9, 13-8 USA South) threatened in the second using a pair of two-out singles to put runners on first and second base, but junior right-hander Joshua Hatcher got the Hawks' Coleson Taylor to strike out looking to end the threat. Huntingdon added a run in the top of the fourth to cut its deficit to 3-1.
 
The Cougars used a trio of runs in the bottom of the fourth to establish a five-run lead. Junior Drew Evans got things started with a double to center and sophomore Hunter Ashworth brought Evans home with his RBI triple to right. Two batters later, Vidano scored Ashworth with a single through the right side. Senior J.T. Crowder's RBI groundout to first rounded out the scoring for Averett in the frame.
 
Trailing 8-2 entering the top of the seventh, Huntingdon got within four thanks to a RBI single through the left side and a two-run double down the left field line. However, Hatcher induced a grounder to short to get the Hawks off the field. Despite spotting Huntingdon the two runs, Averett answered back with a two-run bottom of the seventh to push its lead back to six. Senior Nic Futrell led off the frame with a single and scored on Coston's double down the right field line to put Averett ahead 9-4. The Cougars added another run off Ashworth's RBI sacrifice fly to left to establish a six-run advantage.
 
Huntingdon, however, used a Cougars' throwing error and an RBI single from Dakota Beane to cut Averett's lead down to four after seven and a half. That would be as close as the Hawks would get though.
 
Hatcher (4-0) was solid on the hill for Averett in the victory, going seven innings while striking out six and allowing only two earned runs. Junior relief pitchers Kyle Walsh and Drew Evans each pitched an inning only surrendering a combined two hits.
 
Coston paced the Cougars with three RBI's on two hits. Crowder and Ashworth each chipped in with two runs as well. Alvarez saw the ball well also, finishing the afternoon 2-for-3 with an RBI in the win, Averett's fifth in a row and eighth in its last 10 games.

Averett travels to Lynchburg, Virginia, on March 25 to battle Lynchburg College at 3 p.m. The Cougars defeated Lynchburg 7-6 on Feb. 25 thanks to Futrell's walk-off sacrifice fly.