N.C. Wesleyan knocks off Averett in 11th inning to pick up USA South doubleheader sweep

N.C. Wesleyan College knocked off Averett University in both games of a USA South Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Owen-Fulton Field …

DANVILLE, Va. — N.C. Wesleyan College knocked off Averett University in both games of a USA South Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Owen-Fulton Field.

N.C. Wesleyan defeated Averett 11–6 in the opener before using a two-run, 11th inning to slide past the Cougars 5–3 in the nightcap.

With Game 2 tied at 3–3 in the 11th, N.C. Wesleyan (16–9, 8–0 USA South) broke loose for a pair of runs on Jaiden Barke’s RBI single and Alex Moskal’s sacrifice fly that scored Drifton Padgett with an insurance run.

Averett (9–17, 3–5) showed promise in its half of the frame as freshman Preston Robbins reached on a catcher’s interference and senior Avery Spicer smacked a single through the right side to put the tying runs on first and second base. However, Daniel Thompson got a strikeout to kill the rally and lift the Battling Bishops to the win.

The Cougars entered their half of the fourth facing a 3–0 deficit. Averett got to work changing things as senior Brandon Hatcher reached on a lead-off hit-by-pitch and moved to second on Robbins’ ground out. Spicer followed with a single up the middle that plated Hatcher and pulled the Cougars within two at 3–1. Sophomore Hudson Rowe reached on an error and senior Nate Tuck worked a walk to load the bases with one out. Freshman Caden Grider followed with a two-run double down the leftfield-line that knotted the game at 3–3.

N.C. Wesleyan cracked the scoreboard first on Tyson Bass’ solo home run to left in the first. The Battling Bishops doubled down on their lead in the second on Emry Jackson’s RBI sacrifice fly and Blake Scott pushed N.C. Wesleyan’s lead to three with his sacrifice fly to center.

Grider led Averett with two RBIs while Spicer smacked a pair of hits.

Bass, Scott, Jackson, Barke and Morskal all drove in runs for N.C. Wesleyan.

Thompson scattered three runs, two earned, on three hits, and struck out 17 in 11 innings pitched for the Battling Bishops.

Game 1 wasn’t quite as close as N.C. Wesleyan struck for four runs in the first two innings to take a four-run lead. Scott got the scoring started with his two-run double to left-center and Zach Lyon pushed the Battling Bishops’ lead to three with his RBI sacrifice fly to center.

Keeping the scoring going, Davie Morgan gave N.C. Wesleyan a 4–0 lead with his run-scoring single to left-center.

Hatcher’s single up the middle in the fifth scored sophomore Brandt Brophy and got the Cougars on the board at 4–1. The Battling Bishops answered back with four runs in the sixth on Morgan and Bass’ RBI singles, Jackson Hobbs’ run-scoring sacrifice fly and a wild pitch that plated Morgan to give N.C. Wesleyan an 8–1 cushion.

Hatcher drove in his second run of the game in the Cougars’ half of the sixth to make it an 8–2 contest and Robbins pulled Averett within four on his two-run single to left-center.

Bass and Scott each knocked RBI singles in the eighth to extend the Battling Bishops’ lead to 10–4 and Moskal closed out N.C. Wesleyan’s scoring with his RBI sacrifice fly that made it a seven-run contest.

Tuck’s RBI single to right-center and Grider’s run-scoring ground out in the ninth concluded the scoring.

Hatcher drove in two runs on three hits to pace the Cougars while Robbins recorded a pair of RBIs as well. Tuck smacked three hits and drove in a run while Brophy recorded a pair of hits as well.

Scott drove in a game-high three RBIs for the Battling Bishops while Morgan and Bass drove in a pair of runs apiece as well.

Averett returns to action tomorrow when it concludes its three-game set against N.C. Wesleyan at 1 p.m.