Softball | 3/26/2013 8:55:00 PM

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The Methodist softball team split an afternoon doubleheader with Averett University on Tuesday afternoon, posting a 5-3 win in game one before losing, 20-4, in game two at Monarch Field.
 
The Monarchs are now 14-14 on the season and 5-5 in league play, while the Cougars sit at 12-16 overall and 6-8 in the USA South.
 
In the opener, Jessica Farmer scattered four hits over 7.0 innings in picking up her eighth win of the season. She surrendered four runs (3 ER) with three walks and three strikeouts.
 
Methodist took a 2-0 lead after two innings as Katie Byrd singled home a run in the first inning and Sarah Stapleton drove in a run with a base hit in the second inning.
 
In the fourth inning, the Monarchs added three more runs to take a 5-0 lead. Kirsten Markow drew a one-out walk and back-to-back singles by Krista Zentner and Stapleton loaded the bases. Heather Williams then singled to third to drive in Markow and make it 3-0. After a fielder's choice erased Zentner at the plate, an Averett error on a fly ball hit by Lindsay Tippett allowed two more runs to score as MU went up 5-0.
 
Averett attempted to rally, plating two runs in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Jessye Crews and a Methodist throwing error to pull to within 5-2. The Cougars added one more run in the seventh on another Methodist error, but Farmer got Taylor Dix to ground out with a pair of runners on base to end the game.
 
Williams and Stapleton were both 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored to lead the Monarchs. Markow finished 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored and Byrd finished 1-for-3 with a run driven in.
 
Jenna Rudder was 2-for-4 with an run scored and Crews finished 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI for Averett. Amy Hamlett took the loss, giving up five runs (3 ER) on eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 4.0 innings.
 
In the second game, the Cougars erupted for 20 runs to earn the split. AU scored three in the first, seven in the second, two in the third and eight in the fourth.
 
After falling behind 3-0, the Monarchs tallied a single run in the bottom of the first inning on Byrd's RBI single to make it 3-1 before Averett put the game away with seven runs in the second. The first six Cougar batters reached base safely, including April Costa's three-run home run, as they built a 10-1 lead. Brooke Hensley added a two-run homerun in the third inning before AU tacked on eight more runs in the fourth.
 
Ashley Shingleton and Kelsey Harrington each had RBI base hits for MU in the fourth inning and Marcy McKee added an RBI groundout in the fifth for the Monarchs.
 
Brittany Miller took the loss, she gave up five runs on three hits and two walks in 1.0 inning pitched. Costa earned the win, allowing four runs (2 ER) on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 5.0 innings.
 
Williams was 2-for-3 at the plate to lead Methodist. Byrd was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored and Jordan Adams finished 1-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored.
 
Hensley finished 4-for-4 with five RBIs and a three runs scored to lead the Cougars. Rudder was 3-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored while Dix added two hits in three at bats with three RBIs and three runs scored as Averett pounded out 16 hits in the game.
 
The Monarchs are back in action on Friday when they host Piedmont in a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 pm.