CLEMMONS, N.C.— The Montreat softball team continued its 16-game road trip Wednesday afternoon when it visited Clemmons, N.C. for a non-conference doubleheader against the Carolina University Bruins. Playing just their first two games of the season, the hosts were no match for the Cavaliers, who captured game one, 8-0, before winning the second matchup in five innings, 15-0. With the shutout victories, the Cavs have now won nine of their initial 10 contests in 2024.
 
Seven Montreat batters reached safely before CU pitching recorded its first out of game one. Victoria Alcantar launched a grand slam over the centerfield fence just four hitters into the contest, and Hannah Henderson pushed across another run on her sacrifice fly, handing the visitors a 5-0 lead before the Bruins came to bat.
 
A native of Apple Valley, Calif., Alcantar did more than enough at the plate to aid her quest for a fifth win in the pitcher's circle. Carolina (0-2) couldn't match Alcantar's skill as she mowed down the opposition with ease. Alcantar hurled six 1-hit innings and struck out six batters in her near-perfect effort.
 
Maddox Pleasants and Alanna Hernandez tacked on RBI hits as part of a 3-run seventh frame that pushed the Cavaliers' advantage up to 8-0. Leah Coffing then tossed a scoreless bottom of the seventh, sealing a shutout victory in favor of the visiting squad.
 
Amayia Hernandez (2-4) and Alcantar (2-4) combined for four of the Cavs' nine knocks at the dish, while Alcantar drove in half of Montreat's runs with one swing of the bat. Jasmine Rachal scored twice—the lone Cavalier to do so—in the victory.
 
More dominant Montreat pitching paired with a plethora of runs, including a crooked number in each frame, allowed the visitors to clinch the doubleheader sweep with a 15-0 5-inning triumph in game two.
 
An error coupled with a Makayla Reid RBI groundout put the Cavs on top, 2-0, before the Bruins came to bat. Amayia Hernandez and Haley Fethke helped grow the lead to 5-0 in the second, and Alcantar's 2-run single in the top of the third expanded the advantage to 7-0 through three.
 
Five consecutive walks and HBPs scored two more Montreat runs, and Alcantar blew the game wide open when she cleared the bases via a fourth-inning double. Elizabeth Gergen, Makenzie Ritchie and Pleasants closed out the Cavaliers' scoring in the fifth with a trio of RBI singles, establishing a 15-0 lead in the process.
 
The Cavs plated 15 runs in game two, but they only needed one to claim victory thanks to stellar pitching from Deanna Waddell and Coffing. Waddell captured her fourth win of the season with four shutout frames, and Coffing threw another scoreless inning in relief to secure the run-rule triumph.
 
Alcantar and Leyna Gould each went 2-for-2 at the dish in game two, and Alcantar (5 RBIs), Amayia Hernandez (2 RBIs) and Pleasants (2 RBIs) drove in multiple runs. Meanwhile, five different Cavaliers scored at least two runs.
 
"We played well in all phases of the game today," said head coach Corbin Weeks. "Our pitchers were aggressive, throwing in and around the zone all afternoon, and our offense set the tone with crooked numbers early in both contests."
 
The Montreat softball team takes a few weeks off before starting Appalachian Athletic Conference play at Truett McConnell University on March 2. First pitch of game one is slated for 2 p.m. in Cleveland, Ga.