HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – Averett University baseball earned two hard-fought victories against Hampden-Sydney College to start undefeated in ODAC play.
Averett (9-3, 2-0 ODAC) swept Hampden-Sydney (4-9, 0-3 ODAC) as the Cougars secured their first conference wins of the season: 6-5 and 11-9.
Sunday's battle of the big cats saw the Tigers land the opening blow in Game 1. Hampden-Sydney scored early to put Averett behind, something the Cougars have not had to deal with too often this season. Hampden-Sydney held a 4-1 advantage over Averett before the Cougars found their power swing.
Sophomore
Jack Turner lit the candle for Averett as he pulled a ball over the left field wall for a home run in the fifth inning. Senior
Kevin Zischke, coming off of a week full of accolades after a masterful outing against Southern Virginia University, continued his tear with an RBI-triple. Sophomore
Drew Skinner connected on a sacrifice fly to bring Zischke home and draw the Cougars even after five innings, 4-4.
Averett and Hampden-Sydney put up blanks in the sixth, before the Cougars grabbed a lead they would not relinquish in the seventh. Zischke took advantage of an error from the Tigers, created by the vaunted speed of graduate student
Nolan Maccabe on the base paths. Redshirt sophomore
Trevor Testerman blasted a home run, the Cougars' second of the day to soar out of the confines of Wurdeman Stadium, to give Averett all of the insurance the team would need.
Freshman
Ean Amerson threw four fine innings as Averett's starter, allowing just one earned run while striking out two Tigers. Senior
Jake Braun earned his first win of the season with two innings of one-run ball, allowing just one hit and striking out three batters. Freshman
Cade Sabin shut the door on Hampden-Sydney with a quick three up, three down bottom of the ninth as Averett wrapped up the 6-5 win in Game 1.
Game 2 started with the Cougars and Tigers trading punches. After a scoreless first inning junior J.C.Barry smacked a single into right field to break the ice. Hampden-Sydney responded right away, before Zischke came to the plate in the Cougars' next opportunity. Averett's slugging corner outfielder belted his fifth long ball in the team's last three games with a blast in the third inning. Maccabe followed with a double of his own to extend the Cougars' lead to 3-1. Once again, Hampden-Sydney rallied back in the bottom half of the inning, this time taking a 4-3 advantage.
Back-and-forth the two familiar foes fought, with Averett again responding with two runs to snatch back the lead. Skinner doubled, Maccabe singled, and the Cougars were back ahead in the blink of an eye. The Tigers came back emphatically with five unanswered runs across the fifth and sixth innings. A scoreless seventh inning had the Cougars needing something miraculous with just six outs left to play.
Averett's offense, powered by the usual suspects, delivered emphatically. Barry started the onslaught with a sacrifice fly, a wild pitch brought Testerman home, Zischke knocked an RBI-single, Skinner brought home two more runs with another base hit, and a second wild pitch allowed Zischke to score to send the Cougars ahead, 11-9.
Freshman
Corbin Mickle earned career win number one behind the strength of a gutsy performance. Mickle hurled just under five innings, coming into the game in the fifth and stifling the Tigers' offense until the final out. Mickle allowed just five hits, surrendering no walks, and fanning three batters, needing just 53 pitches to do so.
Averett is off during the week as the Cougars prepare to host Washington and Lee University on Saturday, March 15, for a conference doubleheader starting at noon.
