DANVILLE, Va. — The Averett University baseball team lost 7-6 to Methodist University on Friday before falling 12-4 in the second game of the three-game-series.
 
After two scoreless innings, the Monarchs (24-7, 13-3 USA South) scored a pair of runs in the top of the third to take the first lead of the day. Averett (10-26, 4-13 USA South) responded right away as the Cougars plated three runs in the next half inning for the one run advantage. The Cougars worked the bases loaded with one out and senior Bradley Tickle came to the plate and brought the runner home from third via the sacrifice fly. Sophomore Chase McKinney and junior Matt Tuggle then each registered two-out RBI singles to give Averett their first lead at 3-2.
 
Neither team could score during the next three innings as both teams combined for a total of two hits in that span. However, each offense got going in the seventh inning with Methodist reclaiming the lead as they scored three in the top half of the inning for the 5-3 edge. This was short lived as Averett once again answered quickly with three runs of their own for the 6-5 lead. The Cougars worked another bases loaded situation, but this time with no outs on the board. Tickle came to the plate and smacked a 2-RBI single to right field to knot the game at five. A walk and a strikeout gave sophomore Hunter Leprell the bases loaded with one out. The Huntersville, North Carolina, native fell behind in the count, but kept battling and eventually earned a walk to bring the go-ahead run in.
 
Freshman Tanner Bradshaw kept the Monarchs off the board in the eighth to keep the lead intact heading into the last inning of play. Unfortunately, Methodist would retake the lead one final time in the ninth as Tucker Criswell hit a two-run homerun down the left field line. Averett could not spark a rally in the bottom half of the inning as Methodist held on for the 7-6 win.  
 
Tickle led the way with three RBIs while junior Kyle Vidano and senior Dallas Smithers each had two hits with two runs scored.
 
The Monarchs carried this momentum into Game 2 as they jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning. They tacked on three more in the second which was followed by a couple of Cougar runs in the bottom half to make it 7-2. Smithers and Vidano made Methodist pay for an error in the inning with their RBI double's and single's respectively to cut into the Monarch lead.
 
Heading into the bottom half of the fifth, the Monarchs were able to extend their lead to 11-2 with a run in the fourth and three in their half of he fifth. Sophomore Cody Jones hit a single to left center in the fifth that scored freshman Tyler Bianco for Averett's third run of the game.
 
Each side would go on to add a run to their total as the Monarchs won Game 2, 12-4.
 
Jones finished 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored.
 
The Cougars wrap up conference play on Sunday in the series finale against Methodist at 1 p.m.