DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University softball lost a pair of non-conference games to USA South Athletic Conference preseason favorite Pfeiffer University to open its season on Wednesday at Cougar Field. Pfeiffer outlasted Averett 10-6 in Game 1, then took the nightcap 5-2.
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In the opener, Averett (0-2) overcame an early 3-0 deficit by piecing together a big inning in the bottom of the third. Freshman
Mackenzie Newcomb brought the first run across with an RBI double, then senior
Taylor Sullivan followed with an RBI singe to get the Cougars back within one. Freshman
Molly George's RBI single plated Sullivan to tie the game, and sophomore
Mackenzi Luckenbaugh's sacrifice fly brought home freshman
Kadence Woodlief to put Averett in front 4-3.
After Pfeiffer (6-0) tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth, Averett responded with sophomore
Hannah Zabik's RBI single up the middle to reclaim a 5-4 lead for the Cougars. However, Pfeiffer's offense came through with a two-run pinch-hit double in the fifth, and the Falcons took advantage of a fielding mishap as they scored four runs in the sixth to go up 10-5. Averett got one run back in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn't enough.
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Despite the loss, Averett's offense finished with 10 hits in Game 1, highlighted by Woodlief's 3-for-4 performance and Sullivan's two-hit game.
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In Game 2, Pfeiffer broke a scoreless tie with a four-run third inning thanks to three hits and two errors. George's RBI fielder's choice closed the gap to 4-1 in the bottom of the third, and Luckenbaugh's RBI single pulled the Cougars within 4-2 in the fifth. Pfieffer added another insurance run in the sixth and kept Averett off the scoreboard the rest of the way to take both games of the doubleheader.
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Averett had five hits in Game 2 while getting a strong debut performance in the circle from freshman
Kaci Stephenson, who allowed five runs — only two earned — on 10 hits and one walk in seven innings pitched.
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Averett hosts Methodist University for a doubleheader at noon on Saturday.
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