BUENA Vista, Va.— Averett University baseball defeated Southern Virginia University 13-2 in Game 1 of the scheduled doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. Due to rain, Game 2 was halted in the fourth inning, the teams will resume play next time they are scheduled to face on March 6 at Owen-Fulton Field.
In the top of the third of Game 1, Averett (2-8, 0-0 ODAC) had a big inning, scoring five runs. Sophomore
Chris Byrd led off the inning with a double to center field. Junior
Caden Grider reached first on an error from the pitcher, allowing sophomore
Chris Byrd to score. Junior
Kevin Zischke cracked a double to left field to send Grider to third. Freshman
Jack Turner hit a single into center field to score Grider. Redshirt junior
Luke Harris laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Zischke and advance Turner to second. Junior
Preston Robbins smoked a double into left field to score another run for the Cougars. Sophomore
Trevor Testerman cracked a double into right field to score Robbins, making the score 7-1.
In Game 1, Southern Virginia (1-4, 0-0 USA South) came out ahead 1-0 after a homerun in the bottom of the first. Zischke poked a single into right field to start the second inning. Turner laid down a sacrifice bunt to put Zischke into scoring position at second. He later advanced to third following a walk and a hit by pitch. Testerman swatted a single into center field, which scored two runs for the Cougars to give them the lead.
In the top of the fifth, Robbins poked a singled to center field. Junior
Mason Williams singled to center as well, sending Robbins to second. Testerman hit his second double of the day to score Robbins and Williams. In the bottom of the fifth, the Knights strung together some hits, including a homerun to close the gap, making the score 9-5. Turner led off the top of the seventh with a triple into right field. Harris hit a sacrifice fly into left to score Turner. The Cougars tacked on three more runs in the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the eighth, the Knights had a two-run blast, making the score 13-7. Averett had some pitching struggles in the bottom of the ninth. The Cougars gave up five runs, but managed to hold the Knights off.
In Game 2, Southern Virginia Jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. In the top of the third, freshman
Drew Skinner hit a single to the shortstop. Testerman hit his third double of the day, to advance Skinner to third. Senior
Brandt Brophy grounded out to the shortstop to score Skinner. The Knights had a big inning in the third, scoring four runs to take a 6-1 lead. In the top of the fourth, Turner led off with a single into center field. Redshirt freshman
Calder Garris walked to put runners on first and second. Skinner singled to load the mases. Williams scored on another walk. Testerman reached first on an error by the third baseman, which also scored Garris. Skinner scored on a sacrifice fly to bring the Cougars within two runs of the Knights.
The Cougars are back in action on Feb. 27 when it faces Pfeiffer University on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
