HARRISONBURG, Va. — Averett University softball finished the regular season with a doubleheader split against conference foe Eastern Mennonite University on Saturday. Averett shut out the Royals 6-0 in the opener dropping the nightcap 9-3.
 
In Game 1, sophomore Salem Hill's two-run blast to left field in the second inning gave Averett (9-31, 4-16 ODAC) a 2-0 advantage. That would have been plenty of run support, but the Cougars tacked on more insurance runs in the third. Seniors Karsin Lee and Lauren Nelson had back-to-back RBI singles, and Hill's sacrifice fly made it 5-0. Nelson added another RBI single down the left field line in the seventh.
 
Junior right-hander Taylor Sullivan cruised along, scattering five hits with five strikeouts in seven shutout innings to earn the victory in the circle.

Offensively in the opening game, Lee, senior Hannah Heath, sophomore Hannah Jones and Nelson each had two hits as the Cougars finished with 11 hits as a team.
 
In Game 2, Eastern Mennonite (11-22-1, 4-16 ODAC) struck first with an RBI double in the first inning. Down 1-0, Averett countered in the top of the third to take the lead. Sullivan's RBI single through the left side tied it up, and she later scored on Lee's RBI fielder's choice to give the Cougars the lead. Freshman Mackenzie Luckenbaugh then drew a bases-loaded walk to plate another run to extend Averett's lead to 3-1.

The Royals got two unearned runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game, 3-3, thanks to a run-scoring error and a sacrifice fly. Eastern Mennonite took the lead in the fourth on a two-run triple, followed by another RBI single to put the Royals ahead 6-3. EMU added three more insurance runs in the fifth to help the Royals pull away.

Sullivan led Averett with a pair of hits in Game 2 in the Cougars' final game of the season.
 


 
 
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