BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat softball team concluded its 2025 regular season slate Monday afternoon with a home Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) twin bill against the Johnson University Royals. After falling in the opener, 7-1, the Cavaliers bounced back with a thrilling 4-3 victory in game two. With the split, the Cavs enter the postseason at 32-14 overall and 20-8 in league play, both program-bests since the early 2000s.
 
Montreat started off the initial matchup with a 1-0 edge. Abigail Wyatt led off the bottom of the first with a single, and Amayia Hernandez's base knock moved her into scoring position. A two-out wild pitch later scored Wyatt, putting the home side in front early.
 
Johnson (25-10, 20-6 AAC) came back with a pair of runs in the top of the third, seizing its first lead of the ballgame. The sacrifice fly and RBI single handed the Royals a 2-1 advantage, and they never looked back.
 
The visitors tacked on an insurance run via a single in the fourth; however, it was a sixth-inning grand slam that ultimately put the game out of reach. The Cavs couldn't scratch across a run during the final six frames, and they suffered a 7-1 defeat as a result.
 
Wyatt and Hernadez each went 2-for-3, while Jasmine Rachal notched Montreat's other hit in the opener. Hernandez had the Cavaliers' lone extra-base knock. Makayla Reid drew a walk.
 
Rebecca Carson started in the circle for Montreat, surrendering three runs while striking out three batters in her five innings of work. Victoria Alcantar and Mykenzie Flores each hurled a frame in relief, with Flores retiring all three hitters she faced.
 
The Royals continued to build momentum immediately in game two. A pair of first-inning runs put the Cavs behind early, but the hosts kept battling and fought their way back shortly thereafter.
 
Rachal handed the hosts their first run via an RBI triple to right field. That proved to be the first of three RBIs for Montreat during the second frame. Dayton Kell lined a single up the middle, while Hernandez lofted a sac fly to right. Wyatt added a fourth tally in the bottom of the third with her run-producing single. Thanks to some strong pitching and clutch defense late, those four runs were all the Cavaliers needed.
 
A throwing error saw Johnson cut its deficit in half during the fourth, but that closed out the scoring on Monday. The visitors thought they had the game-tying hit in their final at-bat, but Hernandez threw a runner out at the plate to seal the win. Hannah Henderson held on to the ball through a collision, and Montreat ended its regular season with a 4-3 triumph.
 
Carter Thornton continued her stretch of quality pitching, picking up her 12^th win of the campaign. The upperclassman scattered 10 hits across seven innings, giving up just three runs, two of which were earned, while striking out a pair.
 
At the plate, both Maggie Knight and Kell tallied multiple knocks. Reid scored twice, while Kell and Rachal also touched home plate once. Four Montreat batters registered an RBI, and four hitters drew a walk.
 
For the first time since 2018, Montreat is headed to the WinWon AAC Softball Tournament. Guaranteed a top-five seed, the Cavs' postseason journey is slated to begin on April 28 at Brickyard Park in Kingsport, Tenn.