GREENSBORO, N.C. ­— Guilford College picked up a 20-6 victory over the Averett University baseball team on Thursday at Edgar McBane Field.
 
Guilford (10-6) broke open the game with a four-run fifth inning. After a pair of hit by pitches and a fielder's choice juiced the bases for the Quakers, Brett Shappcott laced a three-run double down the left field line that gave Guilford a 12-6 advantage. An RBI single by Jacob Roberts rounded out the scoring and gave the Quakers a seven-run advantage heading into the seventh. Guilford added another five runs in the bottom of the eighth to put the game away.
 
Averett (8-8) found itself trailing 2-0 at the conclusion of the first. However, the Cougars struck back with a run in their half of the second to cut their deficit in half. Senior Kyle Walsh led off with a single to left-center and then preceded to steal second base to get into scoring position. Moments later, Walsh came around to score on a double play groundout.
 
Despite giving up the run, Guilford answered back with four runs in the bottom of the third to gain a 7-1 cushion. The Quakers picked up their fourth run of the game on an RBI fielder's choice by Shappcott and plated their fifth on an Averett fielding error. Andrew Brann rounded out the scoring with a two-run double down the left field line.
 
The Cougars picked up a run in the top of the fourth to pull within five, but the Quakers managed to bring across a pair of runs in the bottom of fourth to extend its lead back to seven.
 
Facing the large deficit heading into the middle innings, Averett used a four-run fifth to pull within 9-6. Freshman A.J. Hart reached first on a throwing error to kick off the frame. Senior Noah Greenblatt followed with a two-run blast to left to pull the Cougars within five. An RBI groundout by senior Nic Futrell made it 9-5 and an RBI single by Walsh put Averett within striking distance. However, Guilford answered back with a huge fifth to put away the game.
 
Walsh and senior Billy McLaughlin each went 3-for-5 to pace Averett offensively. Walsh and McLaughlin each drove in a run as well. Additionally, Greenblatt brought in two runs with his first home run of the season.
 
Averett returns to action on Friday when it travels to Maryville, Tennessee, to take on Maryville College in USA South Conference action at 7 p.m.