STAUNTON, Va. — The Averett University softball team extended their win streak to four with a two-game sweep of Mary Baldwin University.
 
The Cougars (11-17, 7-5 USA South) jumped out to an early lead in game one with a three run first inning. With runners on second and third and one out, junior Andrea Grant doubled to centerfield to bring home two runs. Sophomore Nicole Cauthen was the next batter and she doubled to left field to help score Grant and give Averett the 3-0 lead.
 
An RBI-double by freshman Makenzie Collins in the third pushed the Averett lead to 4-0 before three Cougar runs in the fourth made it 7-0. Averett put the game away in the top of the fifth as the Cougars crossed the plate six times. After sophomore Mallory Griffiths scored on a passed ball to bring the Cougar lead to 10-0, freshman Ashley Carbajal hit a 2-RBI double to right field to extend the Averett advantage to 12. The Hacienda Heights, California, native then stole third and came home on another Mary Baldwin (1-21, 0-10 USA South) passed ball for the 13th and final Averett run.
 
Averett kept the Fighting Squirrels off the board in the next half inning for the 13-0 victory in five innings.  
 
Carbajal, Grant and sophomore Kaitlyn Aherron each finished with two RBIs. In addition to Aherron's two RBIs, the Alton, Virginia, product pitched 4 2/3 innings on the mound, collecting seven strikeouts while allotting two hits and four walks.
 
Aherron carried this momentum into Game 2 as she hit a leadoff homerun to right field to give Averett another early lead. The Cougars were held scoreless in the second, but would respond in the third with four runs to run their lead to 5-0. Cauthen smacked a two-run homer to right field which was followed by a single by Collins. An RBI-double from Amanda Wright and an RBI-single from sophomore Breanna Murphy accounted for the two other Averett runs in that inning.
 
The homerun parade continued in the fifth inning as Grant led off the inning with a homer. Two batters later, Wright hit a three-run homer of her own to lift the Averett lead to 9-0. The Cougars held Mary Baldwin scoreless in the next half inning on their way to the 9-0 win in five innings.
 
Wright finished a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with four RBIs while pitching a complete game on the mound, striking out three Fighting Squirrel batters and allowing just one hit. Averett had four different players with home runs in the effort.
 
The Cougars return to the diamond in less than 24 hours as they host N.C. Wesleyan College on Wednesday in doubleheader action. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.