FAYETTVILLE, N.C.  — Senior left-handed pitcher Taylor Davis threw a one-hit, complete-game shutout to help the Averett University baseball team defeat No. 23 Methodist University 4-0 in the first game of a conference doubleheader. Methodist battled back in the second game to defeat Averett 7-3 on Saturday.
 
The complete-game marked the fourth time this season Davis (6-1) has gone the distance on the hill. Davis also struck out nine in the first game victory. Methodist's only hit came on an infield single to second base in the bottom of the second inning.
 
The first game in the battle for first place in the USA South Conference standings, saw Averett (22-9, 16-7 USA South) jump on Methodist (25-8, 17-6 USA South) early, posting a run in the first thanks to senior Chatham Currie's RBI double down the left field line that scored sophomore Hunter Ashworth. The Cougars added two more runs in the third to pull ahead 3-0. Davis helped his cause with a ground-rule double to right-center and senior Kevin Alvarez drew a walk on Averett's next at-bat to put runners on first and second. Senior Nic Furell followed with a double to right to score Davis and give Averett a two-run advantage. Alvarez scored on the next play after a failed pickoff attempt by the Monarchs allowed him to advance home. Alvarez drove in a run of his own seventh with his single to left that plated freshman Kyle Vidano to give Averett a 4-0 advantage.
 
Alvarez paced the Cougars offensively in the first game, batting a perfect 3-for-3, including his RBI single. Currie, Ashworth, and senior Timothy Coston each chipped in with two hits in the victory.
 
Game 2 saw Averett load the bases in the first off a trio of singles. However, Methodist used a strikeout and a line out to end the Cougars' threat. The Monarchs took the lead in the bottom of the first frame thanks to a Ray Lanners' double to right.  Averett, though, answered back with a run in its half of the second when senior J.T. Crowder knocked a single to right to bring junior Drew Evans home on the play, knotting the score at 1-1. Not to be outdone, Methodist plated three runs in the bottom of the second to push ahead by three.
 
Averett got back within two in the third when Coston knocked an RBI single that scored Alvarez to get the Cougars within striking distance at 4-2. Neither team would score again until the fifth when Averett tacked on another run on Ashworth's double down the left field line that scored Coston, putting the Cougars down by one.

Methodist broke the game open with a two-run seventh to establish a three-run lead.
 
Crowder, Coston, and Ashworth each drove in a run in the second game. Vidano, Crowder, Davis, Alvarez, Coston, and Evans each chipped in with two hits in the nightcap.
 
Averett battles Methodist on Sunday in the conclusion of the three-game series at 2 p.m.