Montreat College's softball team travelled to Bristol, Virginia on Tuesday, April 13 for two games against Appalachian Athletic Conference foe Virginia Intermont College, splitting two games in a doubleheader that left Head Coach Lee Swanson ruing the result.
After the Cavaliers won game one 6-5, they let a four-run lead slip away as they dropped game two 8-6.

Since Montreat's previous five wins before Tuesday had come by one, two, two, one, and one runs, it was not surprising that the Cavs battled to the last out to secure the victory in Tuesday's first game.  Versatile junior Rachel Stowe pitched and earned the win, and clutch hitter Rachel Stowe was the big reason why: her bases-clearing double in the top of the 6th staked Montreat to a 5-3 lead. 

Junior two-sport athlete Stephanie Morrison added a home run early in the contest, and Jamie Lokken smashed her 8th home run of the season in the top of the 7th; her four-bagger proved to be the winning run as the Cobras clawed back to within 6-5 before the Cavaliers secured the game.

The win raised Montreat's AAC record to 6-3 and overall record to 18-18.

Though most coaches will accept a .500 record on a road trip, Swanson regretted the way in which the 8-6 game two loss played out.  Lokken's mighty bat (she was 3-3 from the plate and drove in another run) and Erin Cross' 2 hits and RBI paced the Cavaliers to a 5-1 lead, but Swanson pointed to the usual suspects as the hosts roared back: "This game may come back to haunt us as the season goes on; we had a 5-1 lead and gave up home runs and made the same defensive errors that have plagued us all season."

Those mistakes led to a Cobra comeback that put Virginia Intermont ahead 8-6 after six innings.  In the top of the last inning, Montreat loaded the bases with one out but failed to get the big hit they needed.  The loss dropped the Cavs to 6-4 in conference, good enough for third place in the AAC, and 18-19 overall.

Next up for the Cavaliers is powerful Reinhardt College, who are running away with the AAC regular season race with a conference mark of 13-1 and an overall record of 35-8.  Come support Montreat as they host the Eagles for two games on Saturday, April 17, with the first pitch of game one set for 2:00 p.m.