Box Score
DANVILLE, VA - The Averett Cougars made sure that head coach Ed Fulton's 300th career victory was one he'll remember.
Senior James Carter's double to left-center field scored junior Jordan Kidd all the way from first base, giving Averett a dramatic 10-9 victory over Tufts University on Tuesday afternoon at Owen-Fulton Field. The loss was the first of the 2012 season for the Jumbos, who dropped to 3-1.
Kidd drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the ninth inning, setting the stage for Carter, who drove the ball deep into the gap. The relay throw home, which was slightly off target, got to the catcher just as Kidd slid safely in for the game-winning run as the Averett dugout emptied in celebration.
Early on, however, Tufts' red-hot bats had continued and the visitors built a lead. Tufts roughed up Averett for five runs on four hits and one error in the top of the first inning. Freshman LF Carter Bidwick (Brookeville, MD) doubled home two runs and scored in the inning. Freshman 3B Wade Hauser (Palo Alto, CA) added a run scoring single and also scored.
Although Averett (17-10) got one run back in the bottom of the first inning, the Jumbos struck again for two more runs in the second to go ahead 7-1. Bidwick and Hauser were both in the middle of it again with rbi singles.
The Cougars nearly erased that entire deficit in the bottom of the second inning. Kidd and Carter each had RBI singles and senior Kyle Newcomb smacked an RBI double as Averett scored five runs on four hits and two errors. Two innings later, Newcomb's second double of the game scored Kidd to tie the game at 7-7.
Yet, that momentum didn't last. A leadoff walk in the fifth chased Averett freshman left-hander Timothy Coston, and Tufts' Hauser blasted a two-run homer to left field to put the Jumbos back in front 9-7.
Averett got one of the runs back on senior Matt Mitchell's RBI single in the sixth, and then took advantage of a Tufts error to tie the game in the seventh.
Tufts threatened in the top of the ninth, but sophomore right-hander Cody Beaver got a strikeout with the bases loaded for the final out. Beaver (1-0) earned the win, pitching two innings in relief.
Kidd, Newcomb and Mitchell each finished 3 for 5 to lead the Cougars offensively. Hauser was 3 for 5 with four rbi and two runs scored for Tufts. Bidwick finished at 2 for 4 with three rbi and two runs scored. Senior DH Matt Collins (Hopkinton, MA) was 2 for 3 with two runs.
Senior Dave Ryan (Trumbull, CT) started for Tufts and allowed 10 hits and two earned runs in four innings. Freshman Willie Archibald (Milton, MA) got the loss in relief, going 4.2 innings allowing seven hits and three runs (two earned). The Jumbos committed three errors.
Tufts was scheduled to play at Greensboro College on Tuesday night at 7 pm, but the game was canceled due to rain and will not be made up. The Jumbos are at Methodist for a 3 pm start on Wednesday. Averett hosts Virginia Wesleyan College also on Wednesday at 3 pm.
Game boxscore
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