DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University baseball celebrated 14 seniors, split Saturday's action against Eastern Mennonite University.

Averett (19-14, 11-11 ODAC) split Saturday's Old Dominion Athletic Conference regular season finale with Eastern Mennonite (13-23, 7-15 ODAC) with an 8-5 victory in Game 1 and a 13-1 7 inning defeat in Game 2.

Before any of the day's action started, Averett took time to honor its seniors. Nick Romano, Caden Grider, Cole McLain, J.C. Barry, Hunter Whitlow, Zach Proctor, Mason Williams, Nathan Comer, Jake Braun, Tyler Wilson, Kevin Zischke, Luke Harris, Tim Schware, and Preston Robbins all earned their laurels in the ceremony prior to first pitch.

With the emotional ceremony in the rear view, the Cougars turned their attention to Game 1 against the Royals. McLain got the Cougars rolling on the mound in the opening game and delivered a very solid outing on his way to win number five of the season. McLain delivered five and a third innings of solid pitching, which featured five punch outs of Royals' batters. Sophomore Will Green II, freshman Maddox Warren, sophomore Jack Turner, freshman Preston Corbett, and freshman Cade Sabin combined to keep Eastern Mennonite at bay through the few innings of play as Averett locked up the win. Sabin earned the save with his performance, his third of the 2025 campaign.

While the Cougars' pitching locked the Royals down, Averett's offense reached a fever pitch in the third inning. Zischke acted as the catalyst for the outburst, leading off with a single into right field. Williams followed suit with his second base knock of the day, and a sacrifice bunt from graduate student Nolan Maccabe put two in scoring position for redshirt sophomore Trevor Testerman. Testerman unloaded on a pitch over the heart of the plate, testing the craftsmanship of the baseball as he attempted to tear the cover off of it with a frozen rope home run over the left field wall. Testerman's swing vaulted Averett ahead to a 3-0 lead. Robbins kept the hot bats swinging with a double into center field, followed up by a single from Barry to extend the lead to 4-0 after three innings. 

Averett did not cool off after its third inning power surge. Grider started the bottom of the fourth with a triple int the ally in left center field, which brought Williams to the plate with a chance to do some damage. The senior center fielder launched a majestic, towering, big fly through the breeze swirling above Owen-Fulton Field in Danville, Virginia, and touched 'em all to put the Cougars up, 6-0. Averett's two-homer game is the team's first on home turf since doing so against Hampden-Sydney College in the 2024 season.

The Royals chipped away at Averett's lead in the top of the sixth inning, drawing within one run of the Cougars. Another extra base hit from Grider, who finished just a home run shy of a cycle, put Averett in prime position to reestablish some insurance runs in the inning. The Cougars capitalized with singles up the middle from both Zischke and Testerman to plate two in the inning, and bring the game to its final 8-5 scoreline. 

The momentum in Game 2 rested entirely with Eastern Mennonite. The Royals scored at least one run in every inning except the first en route to their seven-inning run rule victory in the contest. The highlight of the game came late for Averett, as sophomore Drew Haltom put the Cougars on the board with a well hit single up the middle to score freshman Brady Kremer. Braun took the mound for Averett in Game 2 and delivered the Cougars' best outing, going two innings, giving up just one unearned run, and striking out two Royals.

Looking at the day as a whole, Williams, Grider, and Zischke paced the Averett lineup with three hits each. Testerman provided the pop, thanks in large part to his three run blast, as the third baseman led Averett with four RBIs. 

The regular season is wrapped up, but the Cougars are far from finished. Averett is locked into the ODAC Tournament, and looks to be locked into the sixth seed in the bracket. The Cougars will wait on results from around the conference as they prepare to face off against one of: Shenandoah University, Randolph-Macon College, and Bridgewater College, in a best-of-three series scheduled to begin on Friday, May 2. Read Full Article