DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University softball split a pair of conference games with Meredith College on Thursday at Cougar Field. Averett took the first game 6-3 before the Avenging Angels earned a 4-1 win in the second half of the doubleheader.

In the Game 1 victory, Averett (19-17, 11-7 USA South) broke a 1-1 tie the bottom of the fourth inning on senior Jessica Long's RBI single to center field. The Cougars extended their lead to 5-1 moments later on freshman Kaitlyn Aherron's three-run double to the gap in left-center.

Meredith (22-14, 13-5 USA South) scored a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings to close the deficit to 5-3, but Averett added another an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when freshman Mallory Griffiths scored on a groundout.
Aherron pitched the final 1 1/3 innings in relief to earn the save. Freshman Taylor Bailey (10-8) notched the win, allowing just three runs — two earned — on eight hits with two strikeouts.

Griffths and senior Samantha Hall led Averett offensively in the opener with two hits apiece, with Griffiths scoring two of the Cougars' runs.

Averett also jumped ahead initially in Game 2. The Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on sophomore Andrea Grant's RBI single to right field, which scored Aherron. Meredith, however, bounced back for four runs in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded, Brittany Bucklin singled down the left field line, which scored a pair of runs, and a third run came across on a fielding error. Bucklin then came home on Maria Annunziata's triple to the warning track in center field to put the Angels ahead 4-1.

The doubleheader was a crucial series for both teams as they battle for position in the USA South Conference's East Division. Ferrum College leads the division with a 14-4 league record, followed by Meredith at 13-5 and Averett and N.C. Wesleyan College tied for third with an 11-7 mark. The top three teams in the division will host a best-of-three series during the first weekend of the conference tournament.

Averett hosts Mary Baldwin University on Saturday at 1 p.m. for Senior Day on the Cougars' final home doubleheader of the regular season.