DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University baseball lost its series opener with conference foe Maryville College 7-3 on Friday afternoon at Owen-Fulton Field.
 
Maryville (9-8, 5-2 USA South) took advantage of several unlucky breaks for Averett (4-13, 0-4 USA South). The Scots put runners on second and third in the third inning. The Cougars elected to intentionally walk Bryce Redaja to load the bases and set up a potential inning-ending double play to get out of the jam. However, Johnny Carpenter was plunked in the head to bring home Maryville's first run. The Scots made it 2-0 on an RBI groundout.
 
Maryville extended its lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning after a run scored on a fielder's choice where Andrew Henry beat out a close play at second base to keep the inning alive and allow the run to get home. The Scots added two more runs in the fifth thanks to an RBI single and a run-scoring fielding error.
 
Meanwhile, Maryville left-hander Anthony Rodriguez gave Averett's offense trouble. Rodriguez held the Cougars hitless for 5 2/3 innings. But Averett finally broke through in the sixth for a two-out rally. With a pair of runners on thanks to walks, junior Bradley Tickle ended the no-hitter with an RBI single that was lined into left field. Sophomore Matt Tuggle followed with another RBI single to get Averett within three, and the Cougars trimmed the Maryville lead to 5-3 after scoring again on a wild pitch.
 
The Scots got one of those runs back in the next frame on a safety squeeze bunt, and they made it 7-3 after scoring on a two-out error in the ninth.
 
Averett finished with just three hits.
 
The three-game series was originally scheduled to start on Saturday, but the first game was moved up to Friday due to potential inclement weather that was in the forecast for Sunday. Averett and Maryville finish the three-game series with an 11:30 a.m. doubleheader on Saturday.