RALEIGH, N.C. — Averett University softball lost a pair of games on Sunday to finish play at the Triangle Softball Classic. The Cougars lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to Denison University before falling 12-0 to host Meredith College in five innings.
 
To open the day against Denison (4-2), Averett (3-5) struck first by taking a 1-0 lead on a bases-loaded walk in the first inning. The Cougars extended their lead to 3-0 in the top of the fourth on sophomore Angela Rodriguez's two-run single up the middle, scoring junior Olivia Jones and sophomore Hannah Jones.

The Big Red answered in the bottom half of the fourth, getting and RBI single and an RBI double to pull within one run. Denison then took the lead, 4-3, on Brianna Gonzalez's two-run double to deep center field. The Big Red held Averett off the scoreboard over the final two innings to preserve the win.
 
Freshman Kailey Gates had two of Averett's six hits against Denison.

Junior right-hander Taylor Sullivan struck out three while allowing two runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings in the circle, but didn't factor in the decision.
 
To finish the day, Meredith (4-3) limited Averett's offense to just two hits in five innings while the Avenging Angels found success at the plate. Meredith led 2-0 after the top of the first, then added two more runs on a pair of RBI triples in the second. The Avenging Angels added five runs in the third, one in the fourth and two more in the fifth to pull away.

Senior Lauren Nelson and Hannah Jones had Averett's lone two singles against Meredith.

Averett travels to Methodist University for a non-conference doubleheader on Thursday.


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