DANVILLE, Va. – The Brevard College softball team (6-11) fell by finals of 8-3 and 11-5 to Averett University (5-9) on Sunday afternoon at Cougar Field in Danville, Virginia.
 
Averett used early offense to propel itself to victory in game one, followed by a stretch of eight unanswered runs in the second game to take the six-run win.
   
The Tornados scored three runs on five hits in the first contest, including a two-RBI double by freshman Peyton Wise. Gabby Hooper, Olivia Martinez, and Regan Winkler all came across the plate in the first game for Brevard.
 
Logan Masinsky (1-2) started the ballgame for the Tornados, but was chased in the second inning after six earned runs. Grace Reynolds pitched the final four and 1/3 innings for Brevard, allowing just two runs on four hits with four strikeouts to keep Brevard within striking distance.
 
Averett struck for a three-run bottom of the first to take the early advantage, but Wise's two-RBI double cut the deficit to just a run in the top of the second inning. The Cougars utilized a bases-clearing three-RBI double in the bottom of the second to take a 6-2 advantage. Averett added two more runs to its lead in the bottom of the third, but Reynolds and the Tornado defense shut out the hosts the rest of the way.
 
Brevard used a two-out single that turned into the third run of the contest, as Winkler used heads-up baserunning to bring the Tornados within five runs. BC went down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh to seal the game one win.
   
Averett kicked off game two much like it did the first game, jumping on the Tornados early with three first-inning runs. The Tornados used a massive five-run third inning to take their first lead of the day, 5-3. Wise kicked the inning off with an infield single, followed up by a Karley Queen single up the middle. A fielder's choice put runners on the corners with one out for Jadyn Harlow, who hit an RBI single that plated Wise. A wild pitch advanced MacKenzie Wilborne and Harlow to second and third base, and Winkler hit an RBI single that cut BC's deficit to one run, 3-2.
 
BC continued its station-to-station offensive production, as Rylee Locklear added to the parade with an RBI single that scored Wilborne and tied the game. Ive Leighton capped off the five-run frame with a two-RBI single.
 
Averett was able to find an answer in the bottom of the third, with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single that tied the game at 5-5. The Cougars used two three-run innings in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings to break the contest open and push ahead, 11-5, while the Tornados were unable to find an answer offensively.
 
Locklear led the Tornados with a 3-for-4 outing, tallying a run score, a double, and a RBI. Seven Tornados in total recorded base hits in the game, while Leighton led the offensive production with a pair of RBI.
 
The Tornados next compete on Friday, March 29, opening up USA South Conference play with a home doubleheader vs. Mary Baldwin University starting at 1 p.m.
 
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