DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University baseball earned a doubleheader sweep of SUNY Oneonta, winning 14-7 and 5-3 on Wednesday afternoon at Owen-Fulton Field.
 
In Game 1, Averett (5-11) struck early for three runs in the bottom of the first. Freshman Preston Robbins' sacrifice fly plated the first run before senior Brandon Hatcher scored on a wild pitch. Senior Nate Tuck added a sacrifice fly as well to give the Cougars a 3-0 advantage.

That lead lasted until the top of the third when the bats came alive for Oneonta (3-7). Patrick McGee hit a two-run double to center, Sean Liquori smacked an RBI single through the right side and Noah Frasca tripled in two runs as the Red Dragons surged ahead 5-3. Oneonta added two more runs in the fifth on Matthew McAllister's two-run single to increase the lead to 7-3.

Averett, however, answered in the fifth. The Cougars loaded the bases for freshman Kevin Zischke, who drove in two with a single up the middle. Sophomore Brandt Brophy drew a based-loaded walk to get Averett within one and junior Nolan Maccabe followed with a two-run single to center field that allowed a third run to score thanks to a throwing error from the outfield as the Cougars went back in front 9-7.
 
The Cougars tackled on five more runs in the bottom of the sixth, including two on a single through the left side by freshman Zach Smith and two more on a Maccabe single up the middle, which made it 14-7 Averett.

Maccabe went 4-for-5 with four RBIs and a run scored to lead the Averett offense, which totaled 13 hits in Game 1. Senior Brandon Hatcher also went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
Junior right-hander Tyler Nuckols got the win in relief as Averett used seven pitchers in a planned rotation in Game 1. Sophomore Shane Michel pitched the final 1.2 innings in relief and struck out two to get the first of two saves on the day.

In the nightcap, Averett again struck early with four runs in the first inning. Hatcher smashed a double to right-center to score Maccabe, who had doubled to lead off. Senior Avery Spicer and Tuck each added RBI singles, followed by a Zischke sacrifice fly to give the Cougars a 4-0 edge.

Oneonta scored a run in the second and third innings to cut the Averett lead in half. Averett got one run back when senior Jason Maggs scored on a wild pitch in the sixth. The Red Dragons threatened in the seventh, scoring a run on an RBI groundout to get back within 5-3. However, Michel slammed the door on Oneonta for his second save of the day — his fourth of the season.

Spicer finished 3-for-3 at the plate in Game 2 as Averett totaled seven hits.

Reigning USA South Conference Pitcher of the Week David Asbill (2-1) earned the win in Game 2 as the pitcher of record in another planned staff game as the Cougars used seven pitchers in the win.
 
The Cougars open conference play on Saturday with a doubleheader at Mary Baldwin University.
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