ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — No. 13 Averett University edged Piedmont College 2-0 to begin the second day of the USA South Conference Tournament, but William Peace University took away Averett's chance of advancing to tomorrow's championship game. The Pacers eliminated the Cougars, defeating them 11-2 in five innings.

In Averett's first game, the Cougars jumped ahead of the Lions in first inning to eliminate them from the tournament. After sophomore Jessica Long lined out to first base to open the bottom of the first, sophomore Samantha Hall reached on a walk and stole second. Once Hall got on second, junior Taylor Dix, who was named the USA South Conference Player of the Year on Monday, singled to left field to bring in Hall for a quick 1-0 lead.

Junior Jessye Crews hit the only double of the game in the fourth frame. With senior Emily Dunford on first, she crushed the ball to right center to move Dunford to third, and sophomore Meredith Rudisill came behind Crews with single to center field to send Dunford home, notching another run to defeat Piedmont.

Junior pitcher Jessica Griffin went the distance to claim the win and improve to 11-0.

Unfortunately, the rest of the day didn't pan out in Averett's favor. During the regular season, the Cougars notched 12 wins in less than seven innings, but it was never done to them until today. In Averett's second game against William Peace, Dix singled through the left side ran in Long to put the Cougars ahead early in the top of the first. Averett (34-3-1) struggled handling the ball on defense with three errors in the bottom of the first that allowed the Pacers to score four runs, including Casey Taylor's 3 RBI homer to left field.

Averett trailed 4-1 going into the third inning. Dix scored on a hit from Crews to trim the Pacers' lead to three, but William Peace (21-14-1) answered with a five-run performance in the bottom of the frame. With two more errors and a passed ball, Peace was able to send home three runners and tacked on two more runs to gain a 9-2 advantage over Averett. The Pacers extended its lead in the fourth when Casey singled up the middle to run in Brandi Stamey. Ragan Taylor also batted in Morgan Bryant to secure the win. Going 3-for-3, Casey finished with four RBIs, and Heather Dindinger grabbed the win from the circle.     

For Averett, Dix went 3-for-3 with 1 RBI while senior Amy Hamlett went 2-for-2.

Despite the loss, the Averett set a few program records with 34 overall wins, 22 conference wins and five USA South Conference First Team selections. Head coach Bren Taylor became only the second softball coach to earn the USA South Coach of the Year while Dix also become only the second Cougar to receive the conference's Player of the Year award.  

With Averett's impressive record and national ranking this season, there's still a possibility of an at-large bid to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament field will be announced on May 4.