EMORY, Va. — Averett University softball split a doubleheader at Emory & Henry College on Saturday. The Cougars beat Emory & Henry 8-7 before falling 4-1 in the second game.

Averett (9-4) rushed out to a 6-0 lead in its opening at-bat. Freshman Hannah Thompson's two-run single up the middle put the Cougars on the scoreboard, and junior Nicole Cauthen drove her in with an RBI single moments later. Following senior Essence Pulliam's RBI double to right-center, an error by Emory & Henry (5-6) allowed two more runs to score.

The Wasps also scored in their half of the first inning on an RBI single and an RBI groundout get pull within 6-2. Averett got both of those runs back in the third. Freshman Elena Lewis brought home a run with an RBI single to right field, and Pulliam scored while junior Casey Cook also scored on the play thanks to an Emory & Henry error.

Those insurance runs proved to be substantial after Emory & Henry answered with a pair of RBI singles in the fourth closed the gap to 8-4. The Wasps, who finished with 16 hits, added a run in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to close within one, but Averett escaped with the non-conference win by getting Erin Anderson to foul out to freshman catcher Anna Coleman for the third out with the tying run in scoring position.

Thompson (5-1) earned the win, striking out four in 3.1 innings.

In Game 2, Emory & Henry got back-to-back singles to open the game, the second of which scored a run to give the Wasps a 1-0 advantage. Junior Kaitlyn Aherron tied it, 1-1, with a leadoff homer to start the third inning.

The Wasps pulled away in the sixth thanks to two hits and three errors, which helped three runs score as Emory & Henry took a 4-1 lead.

Averett travels to play two-time defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan University, ranked No. 1 in the country, on Tuesday.