ATHENS, Tenn.— The Montreat softball team couldn't overcome a mix of errors and strong pitching in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon, losing both games in Athens, Tenn. to the Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs, 8-0 (five innings) and 5-1. With the pair of defeats, the Cavaliers now sit at 4-27 (2-12 AAC) on the season.
Tennessee Wesleyan (20-3, 12-2 AAC) showed why it entered the day in first place in the AAC standings. Cheyenne Strong, the Bulldogs' starter in game one, faced just three hitters over the minimum while allowing zero hits in an 8-0 five-inning win.
Jenae Fedewa held the hosts scoreless through two innings, but the Bulldogs took advantage of four Montreat errors to plate eight runs across the third, fourth and fifth frames. Tennessee Wesleyan pushed a trio of runs across home plate in the third and fourth and a pair of runs, including the walk-off winner, in the fifth. Five of TWU's eight runs in game one were unearned.
AJ Martin Aiken drew two of Montreat's three free passes, while
Alexa Chandler earned the other base on balls.
The Cavaliers picked up their first hit of the afternoon in game two on a second-inning leadoff single from
Abigail Christopher. Montreat's first run came in the same inning, as
Savannah Pruitt plated Christopher on a groundout to second base.
Montreat held onto its 1-0 lead for a few innings, but the hosts flipped the script and changed the game in the contest's fourth frame. An RBI fielder's choice, a three-run homer and a run-producing single gave the Bulldogs a 5-1 lead that they did not surrender.
The Cavs did threaten to answer in the fifth with a few early baserunners, but the Tennessee Wesleyan pitching staff, which was stout all afternoon, got out of the jam and sent Montreat down in order in the sixth and seventh to finish the ballgame with a 5-1 win.
Christopher (1-3), Pruitt (1-3) and
Alyssa Hudson (1-2) were responsible for all three of Montreat's hits in game two. In the pitcher's circle,
Leah Coffing threw 2.1 efficient innings in relief, surrendering just a single hit.
The Montreat softball team, weather pending, is scheduled to return to the diamond on Thursday with a non-conference doubleheader against No. 15 Georgia Gwinnett College. First pitch of game one at Roxy Hines Softball Field is set for 4:00 p.m.
