Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.— The Montreat softball team went head-to-head with the Carolina University Bruins on Tuesday afternoon in Winston-Salem, N.C., splitting the doubleheader and grabbing their first win of the 2022 season in the process. With the split, the Cavaliers improved to 1-4 on the year.
 
Montreat got off to a good start in both games of the doubleheader. In game one, a Cameryn Bass one-out triple and an Ashley Starnes two-run shot to left field put Montreat out on the front foot from the get-go.
 
While the Bruins got a run back in the bottom half of the second inning, the Cavaliers were moments away from putting up their second crooked number of the afternoon. Bass started off the two-out rally with a single, and Starnes delivered a double to score Bass all the way from first. Starnes then followed Bass home on an error one hitter later, pushing the Montreat lead to 4-1 through three innings.
 
The Cavaliers threw another crooked number on the board in the fourth inning as Candace Cooper, Isabella Colbert and Jayda Treaster all reached base safely to start. Then, one by one, AJ Martin Aiken, Bass and Starnes brought them home.
 
Carolina (3-5) responded with a single tally in the bottom half of the fourth inning, but that's as close as the Bruins would get. Cooper, who went 2-4 with a double at the dish, threw three scoreless innings to wrap up game one in the Cavaliers favor, 7-2. Cooper pitched all seven innings in the win, allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits with two strikeouts.
 
Two other Cavs recorded multi-hit performances in the first contest of the twin bill. Starnes went 3-4 with a home run and three RBIs, and Bass batted 2-4 with a triple and an RBI. In total, seven different Cavaliers registered a hit in the win.
 
Game two started off like game one with Montreat putting two on the board immediately. Back-to-back extra-base hits off the bats of Martin Aiken and Bass handed the Cavs a 1-0 lead. Three hitters later, Abigail Christopher delivered a base knock to double the Montreat advantage.
 
Where game two was different from the first was in Carolina's ability to push some early runs across home plate. The Bruins scored in each of the first four innings, adding a single run in the first and second, followed by a pair of runs in the third and four runs in the fourth.
 
The Cavaliers tallied a run in the top of the second and fourth innings thanks to a Bass RBI single and a wild pitch, respectively. Despite the production from the top of the order, Montreat found itself in an 8-4 hole with three innings to play.
 
Montreat pieced together some tough, clutch at-bats in the fifth inning. The Cavaliers managed to completely evaporate the Bruins lead by batting around and sending 10 players to the dish in the top half of the fifth. Martin Aiken and Bass each delivered a two-RBI double in the inning, knotting the score up at eight. 
 
Both pitching staffs tallied crucial outs over the next few innings. Kyann Lyne, who came on in relief in the fourth for Jenae Fedewa, sent the Bruins down in order in the fifth and delivered a scoreless frame in the sixth. Lyne ultimately pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing just a single unearned run on five hits with two strikeouts.
 
Montreat couldn't take advantage of a one-out single in the top half of the seventh inning, and the Bruins found their opening. A leadoff double placed a runner in scoring position, and an error allowed the game-winning run to touch home plate. The Bruins had their walk-off win, 9-8.
 
Martin Aiken and Bass each batted 4-5 in game two, with Bass registered four RBIs and Martin Aiken recording two RBIs. Cooper and Leyna Gould each reached base safely on three occasions.
 
The Montreat softball team's next competition also comes against the Carolina University Bruins, this time for the Cavaliers' home opener. First pitch on Feb. 24 is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Black Mountain, N.C.