DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University softball remained unbeaten, sweeping its opening USA South Conference doubleheader against Maryville College on Saturday at Cougar Field. Averett won 10-2 in six innings, then held off the Scots 6-4 in the finale.

Averett (10-0-1, 2-0 USA South) ended Game 1 early with some fireworks. Ahead 8-2 entering the bottom of the sixth, junior Mary Beth Smith and freshman Laura Young crushed back-to-back solo home runs to give the Cougars the walk-off victory.

Smith (5-0) dominated in the pitcher's circle and at the plate. The right-hander limited the Scots to only two hits while striking out nine in six innings. Offensively, Smith went 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs and four runs batted in.

Maryville (1-7, 0-2 USA South) grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the opener on Kalyn Jones' RBI single in the second, but Averett answered in the bottom half of the frame with three runs. Sophomore Jessica Long put the Cougars in front with a two-run single, and Smith drew a bases-loaded walk to give Averett the 3-1 lead.

Averett tacked on four more runs in the fourth thanks to Dix's RBI double, Smith's first blast of the day — a two-run homer —and senior Emily Dunford's RBI single. The Cougars extended their lead to 8-1 in the fifth, but Maryville got it back on an RBI single in the top of the sixth before Averett ended it with the two homers.
Averett finished Game 1 with 13 hits, including two apiece by Long, Young and Dunford.

In Game 2, Averett picked up right where it left off. Long led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run to jump-start a three-run first inning. Dix gave the Cougars a 4-0 cushion with her RBI double in the fourth inning, and Averett added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth on consecutive bases-loaded walks.

Junior right-hander Jessica Griffin cruised through the first five innings in the pitcher's circle, allowing no runs on one hit before running into trouble in the sixth. Maryville got back-to-back singles and Jones cranked a three-run homer to left-center field to shrink Averett's lead to 6-3. The Scots again got to Griffin in the seventh, putting two aboard to start the inning. Smith came in to pitch in relief. Although Maryville got one run on an RBI single, the Cougars got out of the jam thanks to a double play and a strikeout to earn a sweep of the Scots.

Smith earned her first save of the season, while Griffin (3-0) picked up the win with eight strikeouts in six-plus innings.

Long led Averett's offense in Game 2 with a 3-for-3 performance to go with two RBIs and two runs scored. Dix and freshman Mackenzie Barrett each added two hits for the Cougars, who produced 10 hits in the second half of the doubleheader.

Averett hosts N.C. Wesleyan College on Sunday at 12 p.m. at Cougar Field.