DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University baseball was bested by No. 5 Shenandoah University 7-2 on Saturday afternoon at Owen-Fulton Field.
In the bottom of the first inning, Averett (3-14-1, 0-6 ODAC) had something cooking early after holding Shenandoah (18-2, 5-1 ODAC) scoreless in the top of the inning. Junior
Brandt Brophy reached first on a walk. Freshman
Chris Byrd smoked a ball into right center to score Brophy on an RBI double to lead Shenandoah 1-0.
The Hornets wasted no time to even up the score in the second inning, scoring on an unfortunate error that occurred when a throw by senior
Kyle Wilson ricocheted off of a runner trying to steal second to advance the runner all the way home. In the fourth inning, the Cougars took the lead once more. Sophomore
Mason Williams singled through the left side and later advanced to third following a throwing error on the pitcher from a failed pickoff attempt. Sophomore
Nick Romano hit a single to third base to put runners on the corners. Romano attempted to steal second, when the catcher threw the ball to second to tag Romano out, Williams managed to score from third.
In the fifth inning, Shenandoah got some runners on base after a walk and a throwing error by sophomore
Nathan Comer. The bases were loaded following a bunt single and the tying run came across home after a batter was hit by pitch. Averett put junior
Eric Hanson in to try and get the Cougars out of a bases loaded with no outs situation. The runner from third scored on a wild pitch to allow the Hornets to take the lead. They added one more run following a Sac fly. Shenandoah tacked on a couple more runs late in the game to solidify the win.
Through three innings of work, freshman
C.J. Collins had a respectable outing, recording three hits allowed and one unearned run. As a reliever, freshman
Tim Schware showed some promise allowing just one hit through two innings and no runs. Byrd was the bright spot for the Cougar offense, he went 2-for-3 with an RBI double.
The Cougars are back in action when they face Shenandoah on Sunday beginning at noon.
