BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— Montreat College's softball team hosted the Bluefield University Rams in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) doubleheader at Roxy Hines Softball Field on Saturday. The Cavaliers won both games in run-rule fashion, sporting scorelines of 14-0 in five innings and 9-1 in six frames of play.
 
The Cavalier offense was firing on all cylinders, scoring a total of 23 runs from 26 hits. In the first frame of game one, Montreat scored five times thanks in part to a three-run homer from Jasmine Rachal. The left field bomb scored Makayla Reid and Haley Fethke.
 
The Cavs (31-13, 19-7 AAC) scored twice in the second inning from a duo of RBI singles. The first came from Maggie Knight to score Alanna Hernandez, and the second was hit by Reid, which allowed Amayia Hernandez to add a run to Montreat's tally.
 
In the third, Amayia Hernandez hit a bases-loaded RBI single. The Cavs moved station-to-station, which allowed Rachal to plate a run. With the very next batter, Maggie Knight blew the doors off the Rams via a bases-clearing double. She ripped the cover off the ball to deep right field. Another bases-loaded walk for Elizabeth Gergen and a Dayton Kell RBI single pushed the score in favor of the Cavs, 13-0. Isabella Martinez singled through the left side during the fourth, bringing Makenzie Ritchie to the dish to complete the scoring in game one.
 
Rebecca Carson got the start and the win in the circle. She pitched four innings, allowing four hits. She struck out a Ram in the process. Deanna Waddell took her place for the fifth and final inning. She also struck out a batter in her performance.
 
In game two, the Cavs' offense took some time to heat up. Once the bats did, it was on par with the previous game. In the second, Hannah Henderson blooped a hit just over the head of the second baseman. The single allowed both Rachal and Alanna Hernandez to score.
 
With a 2-0 lead in the third, Reid smashed a triple to the right field corner. Knight and Fethke zoomed around the bases to score on the big hit. The Cavs weren't done in the frame, however. Rachal drilled her second moon shot of the day to left field, scoring Reid from third.
 
In the fourth, Reid secured her fifth RBI of the day when she singled up the middle to plate Amayia Hernandez. Although Bluefield (12-28, 3-21 AAC) got a run back after a solo home run in the top of the sixth, Montreat was still able to hit the run rule, walking off the game after six innings.
 
Fethke singled to center, which allowed Ritchie to score. The run gave Montreat a seven-run advantage. After that, Reid hit her second triple of the game to score Martinez and complete the sweep, 9-1.
 
Carter Thornton got the nod in the concluding game. She pitched for four innings, allowing just three hits. Thornton walked a batter but struck out two on the day. Mykenzie Flores and Jaidyn Stephens each pitched one of the final two frames. Flores racked up two strikeouts in her lone inning of work. Stephens only gave up the solo homer, otherwise she faced four batters and set them all down.
 
Individually, Reid led the Cavs with four hits and six RBIs. Behind her, Rachal had three hits, and five RBIs. Knight also had three hits and four RBIs in the doubleheader. Ritchie, Fethke and Henderson all had two hits. Seven other Cavs registered a hit on the day.
 
Montreat had a total of 26 hits across 52 at-bats. Of those, six of them went for extra bases. The Cavs stole four bases without being caught. They also walked 10 times and only struck out four times.
 
The Cavs will find their next action at home against the Johnson University Royals back at Roxy Hines Softball Field on Tuesday. First pitches are slated for 4 and 6 p.m. to close out their AAC regular season slate.