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ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. -- The 9th ranked Christopher Newport Captains (24-1, 8-0) nearly dropped its first game in over a month against conference foe North Carolina Wesleyan College (9-14, 1-5), but used a dramatic late-inning comeback to win its 23rd straight, 7-3 in extra innings.

CNU was trailing by two heading into the ninth inning, facing another solid start from the Bishops. Andrew Webb was sensational for eight innings against the Captains, striking out three and allowing just five hits.

In the ninth, though, the Captains would not go down without a fight. Webb returned to the mound to try and close out the complete game, but CNU wasted no time in clawing back. Steven Lindemuth led off the inning with a single, followed by an RBI double by Matt Shoemaker. The clutch hit was the lone shot of the day for Shoemaker, who scored the game-tying run on the next hit, a Steven Keener double.

Webb escaped without any further damage, but Ryan Fleischmann came on for the Captains in the bottom of the ninth and retired the side, 1-2-3. Headed to extra innings, it was the Captains offense that had swung momentum in favor of the road team.

Much like the ninth, the Captains peppered the Bishops in the tenth right out of the gate. Shannon Mark led off with a walk and scored the eventual game-winning run on an RBI single by Lindemuth. Pinch hitter Chris McDougal stepped in and singled in Ben Lenda, followed by a two-RBI double from rookie shortstop Billy Steel.

The four runs scored were plenty for Fleischmann, who was perfect in the tenth to earn his second win of the week. He retired all six batters he faced for the win, while Richard Lindsay was also stellar for the Captains, going three innings in relief with one strikeout and only one hit allowed. Sophomore Greg Goldsmith made the start for CNU, pitching five innings with four strikeouts, with just two earned runs allowed.

Lindemuth was 3-for-5 in the game for CNU, scoring three runs including two in the final two innings with one run batted in. Travis Medina and Steven Keener also had multi-hit games.

N.C. Wesleyan scored three runs on 10 ten hits as three different Bishops crossed the plate. Tyler Clark had three hits in five at-bats, while Jared Sturz and Justin Rahm each added two hits.

The Captains narrow escape improved the team to 24-1 overall, including remaining perfect in USA South action, 8-0. CNU faces another tough week as they travel to Catholic on Tuesday, March 22 for a makeup contest against the Cardinals. Then, CNU will host #21 Salisbury on Thursday, March 24 and #17 Tufts on Friday, March 25. The Captains then travel to Averett for another conference showdown this Saturday and Sunday.