FERRUM, Va. — With the arm and bat of senior
Taylor Sullivan, Averett University softball defeated Ferrum College 6-1 before falling 7-2 in Game 2 to split an Old Dominion Athletic Conference doubleheader on Tuesday evening.
In Game 1, Ferrum (7-25, 5-11 ODAC) took a 1-0 lead in the third thanks to an error. That stood as the only run for either team until the sixth, when Sullivan helped her own cause with an RBI double to right-center field to tie the game. Sophomore
Mackenzi Luckenbaugh then reached on an error, which allowed another run to score as Averett (13-19, 7-9 ODAC) took a 2-1 lead. Junior
Angela Rodriguez and freshman
Mackenzie Newcomb each followed with RBI singles to push the Cougars' lead to 4-1.
Sullivan crushed a two-run homer to left field in the seventh inning to give Averett some insurance runs, but the Cougars didn't need it. Sullivan finished off Ferrum in the bottom of the seventh, notching her sixth strikeout for the final out of the game. She allowed just one run — unearned — on five hits over seven innings in the circle.
Sullivan also led Averett at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Junior
Grace Watlington also accounted for two runs scored.
In the nightcap, Ferrum plated three runs in the third inning to take the lead. Averett countered in the fourth inning with an RBI triple from sophomore
Hannah Zabik and an RBI single from freshman
Molly George that cut the Panthers' lead to 3-2, it wasn't enough. Ferrum got one run back in the fourth and added three runs in the fifth to pull away.
Averett hosts Guilford College on Thursday in a rescheduled series from earlier this season.
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