LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Averett University softball team split a doubleheader with Randolph College on Thursday afternoon at Randolph Field. Averett won the first game 10-2, but fell 5-3 in the second game after it was called due to darkness in the sixth inning.
 
Averett (3-2) used six runs in the fifth inning to claim the first game. Senior pitcher Mary Beth Smith sparked the offense in the frame for Averett with a home run to left field, and the Cougars capitalized on Randolph's errors to score for the remainder of the inning. Junior utility Jessica Long finished with three stolen bases while freshman catcher Andrea Grant added two RBIs. Smith clinched the win to improve her record to 3-0, and Hannah Winfree wore the loss.     
 
In the second game, Randolph (2-2) took an early 3-0 in the bottom of the second after scoring on a double to center field and a single to second base. Later on, Grant notched her first career home run in the top of the fifth, also batting Smith in, to close the gap and put the Cougars within one (4-3). The Wildcats scored another run in the sixth frame while holding the Cougars to zero, and the game was called before Averett had a chance to answer. Grant led Averett again with 2 RBIs. Randolph's Gracyn Allen-Ingle clinched the win from the circle as freshman Kristyn Owen took the loss.
 
Averett returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 27, to face Virginia Wesleyan College in a doubleheader at 1 p.m.