DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University softball knocked off previously unbeaten No. 1 Christopher Newport University 8-5 to finish off a thrilling non-conference doubleheader Sunday on Cougar Field. The resilient Cougars bounced back from a 10-0 loss earlier in the day to earn a split with the nationally ranked Captains.
After only getting two hits in the opener, Averett (9-7) saw its offense come alive in Game 2 as the Cougars totaled 12 hits as a team. Averett's scoring began when senior
Hannah Thompson crushed a solo homer to left field to put the Cougars in front 1-0 in the second inning.
After CNU tied the game with a solo home run of its own in the top of the fourth, Averett answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Thompson and freshman
Salem Hill led off with back-to-back singles to put runners aboard for the Cougars. An out later, Averett hit a fly ball to right field that was caught for the second out. On the same play, Christopher Newport (23-1) threw the ball away while rocketing the ball to third to keep Thompson from advancing. After the ball sailed wide, Thompson moved to third and scored on the play and Hill moved to third base from first base as Averett jumped back in front 2-1. Senior
Elena Lewis added an RBI double down the line to extend the Cougars' lead to 3-1 through four innings.
In the fifth, another CNU error led to more runs for the Cougars. With runners on first and second, Averett hit a ground ball to shortstop and the toss to second base to get the easy force play was off the mark. As the ball trickled into right field, sophomore
Chloe Horton scored. Junior
Emily Fugate followed with an RBI single through the left side to give Averett a 5-1 advantage.
With momentum growing, Averett's offense came through again in the bottom of the sixth. Senior
Lauren Johnston and senior
Anna Coleman both singled, bringing up Thompson with one out. She hit a single up the middle to bring home Johnston. Trailing 6-1, CNU could have gotten out of the inning without further trouble. However, the Captains threw another ball away on a groundout to first, which allowed Coleman and Thompson to score and push Averett's lead to 8-1.
Those three extra runs in the bottom of the sixth proved to be crucial for Averett as CNU didn't go away quietly in the top of the seventh. The Captains got three singles in a row, with the third driving in a run. A sacrifice fly added another run on the scoreboard to get CNU with 8-3 with one out. It got even more tense for the Cougars once Kaitlyn Hasty crushed a two-run homer to center field moments later to get the Captains within 8-5.
Sullivan, however, got a big strikeout for the second out to inch Averett closer to the upset. She had worked a full count to CNU's Brooke Greaver before catcher's interference was called for the third time on the day. With a runner on first, Sullivan shrugged it off and induced a game-ending groundout to second base to send the Cougars into a celebration by their dugout.
Although Averett has multiple wins over top 10 teams in its history, the win is believed to be the first over a No. 1 ranked team in the softball program's existence.
Sullivan (6-2) had another strong outing in the circle to notch her sixth win. She struck out seven while only allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks.
Thompson finished 3-for-4 at the plate in Game 2 and had two RBIs and three runs scored to lead the offense, which also got two hits each from Johnston and Horton.
Averett overcame a tough outing in Game 1 in which CNU pitcher Kate Alger (9-0) limited the Cougars to just two base hits — back-to-back singles by Coleman and Thompson in the fourth inning. Alger struck out nine.
CNU led 1-0 after an RBI groundout in the second inning and added a second run on a solo homer in the third. The Captains added a two-run homer and three-run triple as part of a six-run fourth inning to go up 8-0. CNU scored two more runs in the fifth to pull away.
Averett returns to action on Tuesday when the Cougars travel to Southern Virginia University for a conference doubleheader.
