Black Mountain, NC – The University of Pikeville softball team won a thrilling game one in extra innings at Montreat College, 2-1 before dropping a hard-fought game two 8-7. UPIKE returns to action tomorrow afternoon at Brevard College for its final day in North Carolina.

Game One
Through the first seven innings of game one, UPIKE stranded six runners on base while the Cavaliers left seven on the bags. In the eighth, runners were placed at second base to begin the inning. A sacrifice bunt and a fielder's choice brought the run home for the Bears and gave them a 1-0 lead. Montreat answered with an RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the inning and sent the game to the ninth.

The top of the ninth saw a sacrifice bunt from the Bears get the runner to third. However, another bunt followed and saw UPIKE get thrown out at the plate and forced the Bears to rally with two outs. A single put runners at first and second before Katelyn Byrd knocked in the game-winning run with a single to center field. Mattea Ware then closed the door on the Cavaliers, stranding a runner at third and giving UPIKE a 2-1 win. She struck out six in her complete-game victory.

Game Two
UPIKE fell behind big in game two after the Cavaliers put up seven runs in the first three innings.

The Bears then responded with three in the fourth, two in the fifth, and two in the sixth inning to tie the game at 7-7 heading into the bottom of the sixth. Kendall Hillard got the scoring started with a two-RBI double to left-center. Alyssa Franklin, Zoe Ingram, and Lillie Kluesner all hit RBI singles while the two other runs came by way of a ground out and obstruction.

Unfortunately for the Bears, three straight singles to kick off the bottom of the sixth brought in the winning run for Montreat as the Bears couldn't answer in the top of the seventh.

What's Up Next
As mentioned, UPIKE ends its trip to North Carolina tomorrow afternoon with a pair against the Brevard College Tornadoes beginning at 12:00 p.m.