MELBOURNE, Fla.— Montreat's softball team traveled down to Florida for its spring break. The squad will play six games in the Sunshine State over the break before returning to campus. The first doubleheader on Tuesday saw the Lawrence Technological University Blue Devils and the No. 21 Midland University Warriors. The Cavaliers won both games, the first being a run rule-shorted five-inning contest 9-1. Montreat (11-9) also beat Midland 7-3 for its first win against a ranked opponent since March 13, 2018. That game resulted in a 2-0 victory over the No. 11-ranked Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders.
The initial game started with a Montreat sacrifice fly.
Maggie Knight drove a ball far enough into left field to bring in
Abigail Wyatt. After LTU (3-4) knotted the score in the bottom of the frame, the Cavs answered right back. Another sac fly to left, this time hit by
Makayla Reid, scored
Dayton Kell. Still in the second inning,
Amayia Hernandez,
Haley Fethke and Knight all singled to bring in at least a run. Knight's single allowed both Hernandez and Wyatt to score.
The Cavs scored three more runs in the contest, all from Hernandez's bat. A two-run single up the middle in the third and a sac fly to left in the fifth brought the final runs to the plate, ending the game 9-1.
Rebecca Carson got the start and the win in the game. Her three innings of work saw five hits against and one earned run. She walked one batter in her shift.
Game two saw the Cavs trail right out of the gate as the Warriors scored two runs in the top of the first. To answer, the Cavs put six runs across in the bottom of the second frame. To start the scoring, Kell singled to the shortstop with the bases loaded. She beat the throw to first, securing the RBI infield single. Reid was the next batter up, and she reached on an error from the shortstop. The Cavs moved station-to-station scoring another run.
Wyatt, Hernandez and Fethke produced the other scores in the inning. Wyatt's RBI groundout and Hernandez's single through the left side plated three runs combined. Fethke rounded out the hot bats in the inning with a single to center that ushered in Hernandez. At the end of the frame, Montreat led 6-2.
Carter Thornton started the contest and went three complete innings. She surrendered 10 hits and two earned runs with a strikeout in the frames of work.
Jaidyn Stephens secured the win with two innings in the circle, allowing just three hits and a run. To slam the door on the Warriors,
Victoria Alcantar came in and hurled two innings, giving up just one hit. She struck out one batter in the process, notching a save in her effort.
No team scored next until the top of the fifth when a Midland (13-8) single pushed across a run. But in the bottom of the sixth, the Cavs got the run back as Wyatt singled down the third base line with the bases loaded.
Hollie Cunningham trotted home on the play.
On the day, Hernandez totaled four hits, leading the Cavs. Behind her, Fethke swung for three hits, Knight and Wyatt had two and three other Montreat hitters had one. Hernandez also led with six RBIs in the doubleheader.
The Cavaliers had seven hits in each of their games of the doubleheader. Montreat did not have a single extra-base hit in either game. The Cavs stole six bases and were only caught once on the day. They went 14-for-43 from the plate in the wins.
"Really proud of this team and the steps we have taken to compete at a high level," said head coach
Corbin Weeks. "Today was a total team effort on both sides of the ball. Our pitching staff did a great job of getting ahead of hitters. We are excited to continue a great week in Florida."
The Cavaliers will be right back in action with a doubleheader on Wednesday. The twin bill will include a game against the Lourdes University Grey Wolves and the Aquinas College Saints at 2:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. respectively.
