DANVILLE --- Averett scored in four of the first five innings and never trailed in a 10-3 victory over Roanoke in non-conference action Thursday afternoon.  The Cougars improved to 20-13 while the Maroons record falls to 12-15.
 
Roanoke, who has lost three-straight, played its fifth game in five days.  The Maroons are 1-6 against USA-South schools this season.
 
Averett took the lead in their first at bat, scoring twice and added a run in the third and fourth innings to take a 4-0 advantage.  The Cougars put the game out of reach with a five-run fifth inning to make it, 9-0.
 
Nick Sburlati belted a two-RBI double in the sixth and had a solo home run in the eighth to cut the Maroons deficit to six, 9-3.  He scored two of the three runs in the contest.
 
Ben Amos, Chad Hill and Sburlati collected two hits each for Roanoke, who still remain in a tight race for seeding in the ODAC Tournament next month.  Amos added a team-best fourth stolen base this season while Sburlati drove in all three runs in defeat.
 
Tyler Grouten (0-1) took the loss for the Maroons, allowing nine runs and 12 hits in 4.2 innings.  With one strikeout this afternoon, Grouten moved into ninth on the career strikeout list (76), trailing teammates Michael Haslam (80/6^th) and Mark Wimmer (89/4^th) in that category at Roanoke.
 
Mark Manthe, who didn't play today, is 10^th all-time at Roanoke in career at bats (315) and career hits (97) after last night's contest.  Manthe, who is three hits shy of #100 for his career, is seventh in doubles (21), home runs (8) and fifth in RBI (71) on Roanoke's all-time list.
 
The men return to action on Saturday, March 31 as they host Lynchburg in a big ODAC doubleheader.  Game time is scheduled for noon at Kiwanis Field.
 
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