MELBOURNE, Fla.— The Montreat softball team wrapped up its spring break trip to the state of Florida on Friday with two more nonconference contests. After dropping the first game against the Indiana Institute of Technology Warriors, 2-0, the Cavaliers bounced back with a 6-2 triumph over the University of Northwestern Ohio Racers. With the split, Montreat concluded its time in the Sunshine State with a 5-1 record, and it improved its overall record on the year to 14-10.
Pitchers controlled the narrative during the Cavs' opening matchup versus Indiana Tech (11-6).
Rebecca Carson was brilliant in the circle, surrendering just a single run on four hits during her five innings of work. The Lynnwood, Wash. native struck out a batter, as did
Victoria Alcantar during her one frame of relief.
The Warriors also delivered a stellar pitching performance. Playing as the home team on the scoreboard, Indiana Tech allowed just two hits throughout the entire contest.
Maggie Knight notched both of those knocks, crushing a double in the top of the fifth and a single in the seventh. Montreat couldn't produce anything else offensively, though. Meanwhile, the Warriors scored on a sacrifice bunt in the first and a sac fly in the sixth. As a result, Indiana Tech claimed the ballgame via a 2-0 scoreline.
Northwestern Ohio (9-6) began the second contest of the day with a 1-0 lead. The Racers utilized a sac fly in the top half of the initial frame to build their edge. The advantage was short-lived, however.
Haley Fethke smacked a two-run double to left during the ensuing half inning, flipping the score in the Cavaliers' favor, 2-1.
A four-run second allowed Montreat to blow the ballgame wide open.
Makayla Reid started things off with an RBI triple to left center before
Abigail Wyatt and
Amayia Hernandez registered run-producing knocks of their own. Hernandez later scored on a wild pitch, expanding the Cavs' lead to 6-1 through two.
Carter Thornton dazzled in the circle, striking out seven Racers, her most as a Cavalier. The Downey, Idaho native gave up just three hits and one run across six complete innings. While the Montreat bats didn't add to their run total after the second frame, Thornton's pitching effort proved to be more than enough to secure the victory.
Mykenzie Flores tossed the final inning, closing out a 6-2 win in the process.
Wyatt and Hernandez combined for four of the Cavs' six hits, as well as four of the six runs. Fethke led the way with two RBIs, while
Maddox Pleasants,
Dayton Kell and Reid each drew a walk.
Montreat jumps back into Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play on Tuesday with a doubleheader at Tennessee Wesleyan University. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. in Athens, Tenn.
