ROCKY MOUNT, Va. — No. 17 Averett University split a doubleheader 1-1 with Ferrum College, falling 7-2 before winning 1-0 on Friday afternoon.

After dropping the opener, Averett (26-1-1, 16-1 USA South) fought back to clinch the second game, refusing to go down with a sweep thanks to a clutch hit late.  With two outs and no one on base, freshman Laura Young's homer to right center broke a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh to put the Cougars ahead 1-0.
 
Ferrum (18-8, 11-5 USA South) tried to answer in the bottom half of the inning as Sarah Bowman singled to left field to start the Panthers' final at-bat. Junior first baseman Rhyan Scearce snagged a pop-fly to give the Panthers one out. Averett quickly erased pinch-runner Sidney Clinevell with a pick off. Junior right-hander Mary Beth Smith then induced a grounder back to herself to end the game. 

Smith went 1-for-2 with a double and clinched the win in the circle for a 15-1 record. Young finished 2-for-3 with her fifth home run of the season. 
 
Ferrum  scored six runs in the third inning of the opener to pull away from Averett early and claim the win. With a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third, the Panthers had two on base with Amber Coffin on second Lindsey Slover on first. Coffin advanced to home on two consecutive passed balls, and Slover scored on Kylene Culler's ground out. Ferrum continued to capitalize on Averett's mishaps throughout the inning, which has been a rarity for the Cougars this season.
 
Shortly after, Aiyana Lew singled to center field and advanced to third on an error while batting two runners to increase the Panthers' lead to 5-0 with two outs. Ferrum added two more RBI singles, stretching the lead to 7-0 before flying out to center field. Averett had two errors in the third and finished the game with four errors.
 
In the fourth inning, senior Emily Dunford got the Cougars on the scoreboard with sacrifice fly to right field, bringing in junior Jessica Griffin. Averett tacked on another run in the fifth with a Jessica Long single to left field that sent freshman Young home, but it wasn't enough to help Averett come back. The Cougars fell short 7-2.
 
The Cougars travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, to play William Peace University in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. for its last road game of the regular season.