DANVILLE, Va. – Averett University baseball dropped its second straight against Shenandoah University on Saturday.
Averett (13-5, 5-2 ODAC) fought once again, showing grit in the face of an early deficit, before ultimately falling to Shenandoah (15-6, 7-1 ODAC). The Hornets secured a 15-7 win to sweep the two-game conference series.
Shenandoah started just as it did in Friday's contest. The Hornets jumped on Averett early, scoring three runs in the top of the first to set the tone. Averett fought back throughout before Shenandoah pulled away late.
Senior
Kevin Zischke led off with a single, and redshirt sophomore
Trevor Testerman followed suit to put two on base for Averett. Senior
Preston Robbins executed at the plate to drive home a runner and put the Cougars on the board.
Senior
Cole McLain delivered a clean top of the second inning to bring Averett back to the plate. Junior backstop
J.C. Barry crushed a pitch, belting a double out over the head of the Hornets' left fielder. Sophomore
Tyler Lowe walked, senior
Nick Romano laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, and the Cougars were in business. Senior
Mason Williams laced a double down the left field line to score two and draw the game back to even. Testerman tallied his second hit of the day, smashing a ball into the left center gap. Averett took the lead, 4-3, after the loud inning.
McLain worked through the game's middle innings very efficiently, keeping Shenandoah off the board and fanning batters along the way. Averett ran into trouble late, losing the lead in the seventh inning, with the Hornets now ahead 9-5.
Williams fought hard to claw the Cougars back into the game in the eighth inning. With a runner on base, Williams blasted a ball over the left field wall to draw Averett back within two runs.Â
Shenandoah emphatically closed the door in the top of the ninth, scoring six runs to pull ahead to the 15-7 final scoreline.
Williams logged two hits on the day, with four RBIs to boot. Zischke, Barry, Lowe, and Testerman each joined the hit party with two a piece. Testerman, Robbins, and graduate student
Nolan Maccabe added an RBI each to go along with the four from Williams. The Cougars' pitchers tallied eight Ks on the board, with five from McLain leading the way.Â
Averett will regroup and return to the diamond for another ODAC match against a tough opponent, as Roanoke College comes to town on Tuesday, March 25, at 3 p.m.
