DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University baseball opened the season with a pair of home losses to non-conference foe Washington and Lee University on Saturday at Owen-Fulton Field.
Washington and Lee (2-0) edged Averett (0-2) 3-2 in the seven-inning opener before pulling away 13-3 in nine innings to finish the doubleheader.
In the opener, Averett fell behind 1-0 following a solo homer in the second inning. The Generals added two more runs in the fifth on back-to-back RBI triples in the right-center field gap.
Down 3-0, Averett tried to battle back. The Cougars got their first run of 2022 in the bottom of the fifth on senior
Nate Tuck's RBI single through the right side, scoring senior
Jason Maggs from second. Averett got within 3-2 in the sixth inning on senior
Brandon Hatcher's RBI groundout, which scored sophomore
Brandt Brophy.
The Cougars, however, couldn't plate the tying run despite several opportunities.
Senior right-hander
Avery Spicer (0-1) struck out nine while allowing just three runs on six hits and two walks in six innings on the mound. Senior
Kyle Lamantia pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Washington and Lee's offense exploded for 13 runs on 15 hits in the second game, The Generals led 7-0 through six innings. Averett got on the board in the seventh with freshman
Joseph Allen's two-run single to right field.
The Generals added a run in the eighth and five unearned runs in the ninth to extend their lead to 13-2. Averett added a run in the bottom of the ninth on Cole McClain's RBI single to center.
After getting just one hit in Game 1, Averett totaled nine hits in Game 2. Allen and freshman
Kevin Zischke each had two hits for the Cougars.
Averett and Washington and Lee face off again on Tuesday in Lexington, Virginia.
