The Virginia Wesleyan baseball team (6-14, 2-11) lost both games in a doubleheader series against conference foe, Averett University.
Game One:
Nathan Bryant went 3-for-4 at bat with one run and one RBI; and
Edgar Harwood also went 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
The Marlins sprung to an early 1-0 lead at the bottom of the second inning.
Edgar Harwood singled up the middle, stole second, and then scored a run off a single to right field by
Nathan Bryant. Averett responded with a run of their own in the top of the third to tie the game at 1-1.
John Bastiaans singled to right field and was followed by
Nick Valentin, who doubled to left center, advancing Bastiaans to third. Next at bat was
Ty James, who reached first on an error. Valentin moved to third; and Bastiaans scored. Then,
Edgar Harwood singled to right field, which sent Valentin home. At the bottom of the third inning, the Marlins claimed a 3-1 lead.
Averett scored a run in the top of the fourth to bring the score to 3-2; but the Marlins responded with another run in the bottom of the fourth as Josh Jones tripled down the right field line and then scored on a hit by
Nathan Bryant.
The Cougars had a strong fifth inning, scoring three runs to take the lead for the first time in the game at 5-4 and kept the Marlins to no runs. Averett continued this success into the top of the sixth inning as they scored four more runs to lead 9-4.
Nathan Bryant doubled to begin the eighth inning and scored off a hit by
Nick Valentin. VWU created scoring opportunities in the bottom of the eighth with two hits; but the Marlins were only able to score one run and left two on base.
Neither team scored in the ninth inning, solidifying the 9-5 Averett win.
Game Two:
Joshua Jones had a strong performance in the second game as he went 2-for-3 at bat and tallied one run; and
Nick Valentin also contributed as he went 2-for-5 at bat with one run.
After two scoreless runs, the Cougars took a 2-0 lead in the third inning and tallied two more in the top of the fourth. VWU responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth as
Joshua Jones sent
Nick Sylvester to third on a double. Then,
Nathan Bryant sent Jones to third and Sylvester home. Jones went on to score off a hit by
Jason Caccavaro to bring the score to 4-2 for the Cougars.
Averett scored two runs in the top of the sixth to lead 6-2, but the Marlins narrowed the edge to 6-3 as
Nick Valentin singled to left field and then scored off a sacrifice fly by
Nick Sylvester. The Cougars scored another run at the top of the eighth, but once again the Marlins applied pressure and scored another run of their own.
Clay Clarke singled down the left field line and then made it home on a throwing error.
The Cougars took advantage of pitching errors from VWU in the final inning and scored three runs. The Marlins were unable to recover from the deficit and lost the second game 13-4.
Next, the Marlins will travel to Ashland, Virginia to face conference opponent, Randolph-Macon on Tuesday, April 8 at 3:30 p.m.
