ASHLAND, Va. — Averett University baseball lost to Randolph-Macon College twice on Saturday.
Averett (17-13, 9-10 ODAC) struggled out of the gates against Randolph-Macon (21-11, 13-6 ODAC) as the Yellow Jackets tacked on the runs early in Game 1 and pulled away late in Game 2 to earn the Saturday sweep.
Game 1 ended in a 16-3 defeat for the Cougars. Averett scored its only runs of the game in the fifth inning, with the score already well in favor of the home team. Senior
Nick Romano led off with a double, senior
Mason Williams scored Romano on a single, graduate student
Nolan Maccabe stroked the Cougars' second double of the inning to send Williams home, before coming around to score on a wild pitch.Â
Game 2 was the more entertaining spectacle for the neutral fan, as the teams traded blows throughout much of the contest. The Cougars struck first, breaking into the run column in the top of the third inning. Senior
Kevin Zischke continued his excellent 2025 campaign with a solo home run to start the scoring. Maccabe and redshirt sophomore
Trevor Testerman hit dueling singles, before senior
Preston Robbins drove home a run with a double to left center, making the score 2-0 in favor of the visiting Cougars.
Randolph-Macon responded in the bottom half of the inning to begin the trend of back and forth scoring. Averett scored again in the top of the fourth, taking advantage of Yellow Jacket mistakes and singles from Romano and Zischke to do so. Once again, Randolph-Macon answered in the bottom of the inning, making the score 3-2 in favor of Averett after four.Â
The game unraveled for Averett in the bottom of the sixth, as the Yellow Jackets pieced together three runs to snag a 5-3 lead. The Cougars fought back, scoring one run in both the seventh and eighth inning, but were unable to keep Randolph-Macon off the board. Walks and errors allowed Averett to score in the seventh, and a triple from Williams scored the Cougars' eighth inning tally. Ultimately the Yellow Jackets held on to their lead, closing out the 7-5 win in Game 2.
Williams and Romano led Averett in Game 1, notching two hits each. Zischke and Robbins carried the torch in Game 2, with the duo of seniors each adding three hits to their ledger.Â
Averett will need to refocus in a hurry, as the Cougars head west to take on a bitter rival. Ferrum College awaits for a date on Tuesday, April 22, at 6 p.m.
