BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat softball team played another two games on Sunday at Roxy Hines Field. The Cavaliers walked off in the first competition, winning 7-6, before dropping a 6-3 final in game two. With the squad's fourth split of the year, the Cavs now sit at a 4-6 record.
After
Kendall Rubel got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning of game one,
Taylor Yonke produced a bases-clearing double in the second before
Cameryn Bass singled in Yonke to make it 4-0 through two.
The Bears got a run back in the third and another in the fifth, but the Cavaliers answered to restore the 4-run edge in the bottom of the fifth. An error and double steal allowed
Alyssa Hudson to score, and
Coleena Selleck came around via a wild pitch to lead 6-2.
Despite the Montreat advantage, Shawnee State plated four in the sixth to knot the game at six. Following a pair of singles and an error,
Maddox Pleasants delivered an RBI single for a 7-6 walk-off win. Yonke (2-3) and Hudson (2-4) both finished with multiple hits for the Cavs.
Deanna Waddell improved to 3-2 on the year with 1.1 scoreless innings pitched in relief.
Shawnee State (1-3) took a 1-0 lead in the second frame of game two before Yonke put the Cavaliers back ahead in the bottom of the inning. The Mount Dora, Fla. native crushed a triple to right center that brought in Pleasants, while a throwing error allowed Yonke to come home and make it 2-1.
The Bears then crossed three in the top of the third to go up 4-2. Though Montreat tallied a pair of baserunners in the fourth, SSU erased the threat and expanded its advantage to three with a solo shot in the fifth.
A walk, fielder's choice and two sacrifice bunts enabled the Cavs to get a run back in the bottom of the inning. Although the Cavaliers pulled within two with the run in the fifth, Montreat's offense recorded just four hits in the game and the Bears secured their initial win of 2023 with another run in the seventh.
Leyna Gould (2-3) registered half of the team's hits in the loss.
Softball is back in action for the final contest of its 3-game set against Shawnee State on Monday. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.