MONTGOMERY, Ala. — No. 21 Averett University softball dominated conference foe Huntingdon College 12-1 in five innings, but the Hawks edged the Cougars 3-2 in the second half of the doubleheader Sunday to give them their first loss of the season.

Averett (25-1-1, 15-1 USA South) cruised in the opener, pounding out 18 hits. The Cougars grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first inning, with three of the runs coming on junior Mary Beth Smith's three-run homer to left field. Smith's RBI double and junior Rhyan Scearce's two-run double were part of a five-run second inning that helped give Averett a commanding 9-0 lead.

The Cougars tacked on two more runs in the third inning and one in the fourth to pull away. Huntingdon (13-11, 8-6 USA South) scored its lone run in the bottom of the fourth.

Smith, junior Taylor Dix and sophomores Jessica Lone and Samantha Hall each had three hits in Game 1 to lead the Averett offense.

Smith (14-0) also earned the victory, allowing just four hits while striking out three.

Scoring didn't come easy for either team in Game 2. Averett broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth on Scearce's RBI single up the middle. The Cougars went ahead 2-0 in the sixth when Hall scored from third base on a wild pitch. Yet, Huntingdon answered in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of RBI doubles to tie the game.

Averett put two runners aboard in the top of the seventh, but Huntingdon got out of the jam with a double play. The Hawks then got a leadoff walk to start the seventh. After sacrificing the runner over to second, Heather McGuirk's two-out single to right field scored Ashley Johnson to give Huntingdon the walk-off win.

The Cougars totaled eight hits in the nightcap, with Long and Dix finishing with two apiece.

Averett returns to action at Ferrum College on Friday for a conference doubleheader.