LEXINGTON, Va. – Strong hitting and pitching guided the Washington and Lee baseball team to an 8-2 win over Averett on Sunday afternoon to complete the three-game series sweep.
 
The Generals improve to 3-0 overall with the win and drop the Cougars to 0-4 overall.
 
W&L got on the board quickly with three runs in the bottom of the first on a double from senior right fielder Ryan Monson (Frisco, Texas/Wakeland) and a two-run single off the bat of sophomore first baseman Brian Wickman (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional).
 
After first-year center fielder Zach Perkins (Vienna, Va./James Madison) added a run to the W&L lead in the second, the Cougars got two runs back in the top of the third on a single from sophomore left fielder Jason Maggs and a run on a wild pitch.
 
The Generals answered with a run in the bottom of the third, before junior shortstop Jason Volpicelli (Great Falls, Va./Paul VI Catholic) drove in two more runs on a single up the middle in the sixth. Volpicelli rounded out the scoring in the game with a sacrifice fly to center in the bottom of the eighth.
 
Sophomore second baseman Jackson Gazin (Reisterstown, Md./Boys' Latin) went 3-for-3 on the day with three runs, two walks and three stolen bases. Gazin already has eight hits and six stolen bases through three games this season. Volpicelli added three hits of his own, plated three runs and scored once himself.
 
Monson finished with two hits, two runs and an RBI, while Wickman tallied two RBI in the game.
 
Senior right-hander Tom Kellogg (San Antonio, Texas/Saint Mary's Hall) (1-0) was stellar on the mound for the Blue and White, as he tossed 8.2 innings and allowed two unearned runs. Kellogg limited Averett to just 6-for-33 (.182) at the plate and tallied seven strikeouts. Junior reliever Mason Shuffler (Lafayette, La./Episcopal School of Acadiana) came on and recorded the final out of the game.
 
Six different Cougars batters logged one hit each in the contest, with Maggs recording the only RBI for the offense. First-year catcher Kyle Wilson and sophomore shortstop Nate Tuck scored the two Averett runs.
 
First-year righty Braxton Eades (0-1) suffered the loss on the mound after allowing five earned runs on seven hits over three innings. Senior George Roos pitched scoreless fourth and fifth innings, before sophomore Avery Spicer and senior Alex Ansted combined to allow three earned runs over the final three innings.
 
The Generals will return to the diamond on Tuesday when they host Southern Virginia at 3:30 pm at Cap'n Dick Smith Field.