DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University split its doubleheader against Randolph-Macon College, winning 9-8 in Game 1 and falling 11-0 in Game 2 on Saturday afternoon on Owen-Fulton Field.
In Game 1, Averett (6-18, 2-7 ODAC) was down 7-1 going into the sixth inning against Randolph-Macon. Sophomore
Trevor Testerman led off with a single through the left side. Junior
Kevin Zischke was hit by pitch to move Testerman to second. The scales started tipping in the Cougars' favor after graduate
Nolan Maccabe smashed a ball over the left field wall for a three-run blast to allow the Cougars to cut the deficit to 7-4.
Going into the matchup, Randolph-Macon (15-6, 8-2 ODAC) was receiving votes to be ranked nationally on d3baseball.com. Randolph-Macon struck first in Game 1. The Yellow Jackets scored a run in the first on a sacrifice fly. They added to their lead in the second after a solo homerun. The Yellow Jackets added to the tally, leading 6-0 going into the fifth inning.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, junior
Gavin Colwell ripped a double into left center. Junior
Preston Robbins batted Colwell in with an RBI-single to get the Cougars on the board. The Yellow Jackets added a run in the top of the sixth to lead 7-1. Senior
Shane Michel came in to the game to relieve junior
Jake Braun. Through 1.2 innings, Michel allowed one hit and just one run, which came off of a wild pitch in the top of the seventh.
The Cougars rallied in the bottom of the seventh. Colwell led off with a single into left field. Senior
Brandt Brophy slapped a single into right field to advance Colwell to second. Zischke poked a single into left field to score Colwell and advance Brophy to second. Freshman
Tyler Lowe poked a single through the left side, scoring Brophy and putting Zischke on third. Maccabe smoked a double into center field to score Zischke and put Lowe on third. Junior
Mason Williams lined a single into center to score two additional runners to allow the Cougars to take the 9-8 lead. Freshman
Kendrick Sheffield came into the game in the eighth to close things out for the Cougars. Sheffield allowed just three hits to get the first save of his collegiate career.
In Game 2, Averett had some pitching struggles early on. Sophomore
Tim Schware got the start for the Cougars and put up two scoreless innings before giving up four runs in the third inning. Freshman
Garrett Arner and senior
Eric Hanson both came in to pitch in the inning, giving up four additional runs before getting out of the inning. Hanson allowed just one earned run through 2.1 innings pitched. Freshman
Halen Lowman came into pitch in the sixth inning, giving up just one run in three innings of work. Freshman Isaiah Bobbit came into the game in the ninth and allowed a run to extend Randolph-Macon's lead to 11-0.
