ASHEBORO, N.C. – Averett University baseball splits Saturday doubleheader against Greensboro College behind late game power surge in Game 2.
Greensboro (4-2) fired the day's opening shot by taking Game 1, 12-8. Averett (5-2) fought back to win the second game of the doubleheader in heroic fashion, 11-9, in 10 innings.
The Cougars jumped out to an early lead in the day's opening frame. Sophomore
Drew Skinner continued to pad his stellar early-season stats, as the Cougars' designated hitter knocked in two RBIs in his first plate appearance Saturday. Sophomore
Tyler Lowe added an RBI of his own to push Averett's lead to 3-0 in the top half of the first inning. Greensboro fired back, amassing seven runs across the next five innings of play, before the Cougars got back into the run column.
The veteran outfield tandem of senior
Mason Williams and graduate student
Nolan Maccabe combined to drive in two runs for Averett in the sixth. A pair of singles helped spark the Cougars' climb back into striking distance. Sophomore first baseman
Jack Turner launched a double to left center to score two Cougars, before senior
Kevin Zischke singled to bring Turner home and knot the game, 8-8, after the seventh inning.
Greensboro pulled ahead in the game's final innings. Powered by a three-run home run, the Pride secured the 12-8 victory over the Cougars in the first half of the doubleheader.
Zischke and senior
Nick Romano led Averett's attack in the opening game, tallying three hits each. Turner added two doubles, as both he and Skinner paced the team with two runs knocked in.
Game 2 started with the Cougars' lineup scorching hot. Senior
Preston Robbins plated Averett's opening tally in the top of the first before the Cougars got rolling in the second inning. Skinner put the ball in play to score two Cougars, Maccabe roped a two-RBI double, and Robbins tallied his second RBI of the game as Averett ran out to a 5-0 lead in the second. Greensboro rallied, cutting the lead down to 5-4, before Lowe asserted himself as a difference maker in the contest. The Cougars' shortstop launched a two-run home run in the third inning.
Again, the Pride refused to be knocked out of the bout. Greensboro strung together four unanswered runs to draw even, 8-8, heading into the ninth inning with a chance to sweep Saturday's action. Maccabe singled to get on base, swiped second to get into scoring position, and after well executed situational hitting found himself at third as the go-ahead run. A wild pitch snuck by the Pride's backstop, and Maccabe crossed the plate to send Averett ahead. Greensboro responded with a run in the bottom of the ninth, knotting the score up to bring on extra innings.
The Cougars made sure there would only be one extra frame on the chilly North Carolina night. Lowe stepped into the box to face off against Greensboro's sidewinding pitcher, and tee'd off a no-doubt shot over the tall left field fence in McCrary Park. Zischke added an all important insurance run for Averett as he showcased his opposite field power, sending another baseball out over the left field wall.
Sophomore
Kendrick Sheffield took to the mound to close the door for Averett. Sheffield worked his way out of a jam thanks to what can only be described as a wacky play, as the Cougars doubled up Greensboro on an infield fly to close the book on a long day of baseball in The Tarheel State.
Lowe put up a career day at the plate, going 5-for-5 while adding two homers and three RBIs. Maccabe, Robbins, and junior catcher
J.C. Barry each added two hits of their own. Maccabe and Robbins also accounted for two RBIs each, while Zischke finished with one. Turner earned his first career win on the mound, with Sheffield picking up career save number two.
The rubber match between Averett and Greensboro is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, as each side looks to secure the series.
