DANVILLE, Va. – Right-fielder Sabrina Moreno threw out Kristyn Owen at home plate to end the game and preserve Guilford College’s 5-4 win over Averett University in the nightcap of Saturday’s nonconference softball doubleheader. Courtney Lackey’s run-scoring single put Guilford ahead and helped secure a split of the twinbill. Averett (6-8) won the opener, 3-2, on Taylor Dix’s walkoff single in the eighth inning.
After Guilford (8-2) went ahead in the seventh inning of game two, Averett put runners on first and second with one out. Lackey fanned pinch-hitter Samm Chandler for the second out, which brought leadoff hitter Jessica Long to the plate. Long singled to right, where Moreno fielded the ball and gunned down Owen for the game’s final out.
Lackey (4-0) entered the game in relief of starter Casey Snead and scattered eight hits over 5.2 innings. She was touched for one sixth-inning run on Mary Beth Smith’s RBI single that broke a 3-3 tie. Guilford took the lead in the top of the seventh on Jordan Starke’s pinch-hit fielder’s choice followed by Lackey’s two-out, RBI single down the left field line.
Makayla Carver, Taylor Boyd, Moreno and Savannah Yale each had two hits for the Quakers, which finished with 12 hits in the game. Smith went 4-4 with three RBI for the Cougars. Owen (0-4) took the loss with 4.2 innings of relief despite not yielding an earned run.
Dix’s single in the eighth inning gave the hosts a 3-2 opening-game win. Guilford went ahead 2-1 in the top half of the inning on Carver’s RBI single, but the Cougars answered in the home eighth against Carver. With Mackenzie Barrett placed on second to start the inning per international tiebreak rules, Long singled to put runners on the corners. A wild pitch scored Barrett and moved Long to second before Dix delivered the game-winning hit.
Long and Rhyan Scearce had two hits apiece for Averett. Mary Beth Smith scattered four hits, fanned seven and walked just one in the complete-game effort. Both Guilford runs were unearned.
Carver yielded six hits in seven innings. She struck out three, walked one and yielded two earned runs in seven innings of work. Carver helped herself at the plate with three hits, including a double, and an RBI. Courtney Trickle had the Quakers’ fourth hit.
Coach Dennis Shores’ Quakers visit Salem College Wednesday (3/9) for a 4:00 p.m. doubleheader.