MELBOURNE, Fla.— The Montreat softball team continued its Florida trip on Tuesday as it made its way to the USSSA Space Coast Complex for a pair of non-conference matchups with the Aquinas College Saints and the MidAmerica Nazarene University Pioneers. Following a pair of shutout wins, 2-0 over the Saints and 5-0 versus the Pioneers, the Cavaliers' 2024 record rose to 13-3 overall.
 
Montreat only tallied two hits in its opener against Aquinas (10-2), but it made the most out of those knocks. In the top of the second, Makayla Reid plated Alanna Hernandez when she ripped a triple into the gap in left center. Two innings later, Haley Fethke also drove a ball to left center, this time a solo home run that put the Cavs in front, 2-0.
 
Two runs proved more than enough for Victoria Alcantar, who captured her seventh win of the season in the pitcher's circle. After escaping a few early jams, Alcantar retired nine consecutive batters between the third and sixth innings. The Apple Valley, Calif. native surrendered seven hits, and she tossed her third complete game shutout of the season as she slammed the door on the Saints to close out the 2-0 triumph.
 
MidAmerica Nazarene (12-7) found similar luck against Cavalier pitching in game two. Deanna Waddell hurled six shutout frames while allowing just five hits as the starter, and Kendall Rubel wrapped up the contest with a 2-strikeout relief inning in the top of the seventh.
 
Playing as the home team in the latter half of Tuesday's doubleheader, Montreat quadrupled its hit total from game one to game two. Those extra hits set the table for numerous sacrifice opportunities, and the Cavs cashed in.
 
Leyna Gould put the home side up early with a sac fly in the bottom of the first, while Hannah Henderson pushed across another run during the following frame via a sacrifice bunt. Hernandez contributed to the Montreat lead with a bunt single in the third, and Dayton Kell touched home plate on a wild pitch as the Cavaliers built a 4-0 edge through three innings. Gould's sac bunt in the fifth capped off the scoring in game two, and the Cavs finished off their doubleheader with another shutout, 5-0.
 
Jasmine Rachal, who went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs, was the only Montreat batter to register multiple hits or score several runs. Gould (2 RBIs) proved to be the lone Cavalier who drove in more than one baserunner in the win over MidAmerica Nazarene.
 
"Our pitching once again set the tone for us as a squad," said head coach Corbin Weeks. "Victoria, Deanna and Kendall were all strong in the circle, and it gave our offense the ability to pick its spots and scratch across runs when the chances presented themselves."
 
The Montreat softball team returns to the USSSA Space Coast Complex tomorrow for two additional non-conference battles against Cornell College and Indiana Tech. First pitch against the Rams is scheduled for 10 a.m. in Melbourne, Fla.