COLUMBIA, S.C.— The Montreat softball team traveled to Columbia, S.C. Tuesday evening to face off against the Columbia International University Rams in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) doubleheader. Thanks to a 5-3 win and a 3-2 8-inning defeat, the Cavs moved to 26-12 (8-10 AAC) on the year.
 
In game one, CIU (12-24, 3-17 AAC) crossed first with an unearned run in the bottom of the second; however, Haley Fethke utilized her team-best seventh home run of the year, a 3-run bomb to right center, put the Cavs on top in the ensuing half inning.
 
Amayia Hernandez extended the lead to three with her RBI single in the fifth before she came around to score on a double steal attempt to make it 5-1 through five innings. Despite a solo shot from the home side in the sixth and a run in the seventh, the Cavaliers held on for the 2-run victory.
 
Fethke (2-2) and Hernandez (2-4) were the two Montreat hitters with multiple base knocks as the visitors narrowly outhit Columbia International, 7-6. Hernandez also scored twice in the ballgame.
 
Victoria Alcantar limited the Rams' offense throughout the entirety of the contest. The Apple Valley, Calif. native collected her 11^th win of the season thanks to a complete-game effort in the circle. Alcantar, who retired a string of 10 consecutive batters from the third through the sixth frames, ended with four strikeouts.
 
Both teams notched baserunners early in the second contest but struggled to plate them. In each squad's first four trips to the dish, the Cavs and Rams stranded runners in scoring position, leaving the game scoreless through a few innings.
 
In the top of the fourth, Hollie Cunningham stole home on a double steal to hand Montreat a 1-0 advantage. Elizabeth Gergen then connected on her third homer of the season, a solo shot in the top of the sixth, to put the Cavaliers up 2-0.
 
From there, CIU capitalized on miscues from the visitors, scoring a pair of unearned runs to knot the score at two in the bottom of the sixth before using a trio of 2-out base hits in the eighth to walk off on the Cavs.
 
Offensively, Fethke went 3-for-4 in the second matchup to end the day a combined 5-for-6 in the twin bill. Alcantar, who started game two in the circle, threw a scoreless three frames, while Deanna Waddell allowed just one earned run over her 4 2/3 frames of pitching.
 
Softball continues conference play with a doubleheader at Reinhardt University on Saturday. First pitch of game one in Waleska, Ga. is scheduled for 2 p.m.