Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Game 1:  Box Score in HTML Format  |  Box Score in PDF Format
Game 2:  Box score in HTML Format  |  Box Score in PDF Format

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. -- The 24th-ranked Christopher Newport softball team exploded for 23 hits in a doubleheader sweep  over N.C. Wesleyan on Wednesday, winning game one in six innings, 10-1, and taking game two, 8-3, in a game shortened by darkness. The Captains improved to 15-8 overall, with a 7-2 mark against league opponents, dropping the Battling Bishops to 7-9 overall, 4-6 in the USA South. 

Sophomore Sabrina Hill led the offensive onslaught, with five hits in seven at-bats, driving in five runs for the Captains. CNU got multi-hit performances from batters one through seven in the lineup, including three-hit days from rookie Meagan Jones and senior Chelsea Mitchell.

In game one, senior Whitney Haller (6-3) tossed a complete game with six strikeouts for the Captains. Haller scattered five hits and gave up just one unearned run in the win, walking a pair. 

Mitchell started things off in the second inning with a single, and scored after a double by Kelsey Lewis. A second run would come in on an RBI single by Taylor Dillow. Then, in the top of the third, CNU opened up a big lead when Kelley Foate, Hill and Mitchell all came around to score for a 5-0 advantage. 

In the top of the fifth, Hill blasted her fourth home run of the season, a solo shot. The Captains would add four more runs in the sixth inning as Sarah Munsch, Jones and Mitchell each had RBI swings. Jones' two-out single to left field drove in a pair and put the 8-run rule in effect. The Bishops added a run in the bottom of the sixth, but Haller escaped any more damage with a double play to end the game.

The CNU offense would continue to roll in the second game, putting 11 hits on the board. Hill led the way again, driving in four runs on a pair of hits. The first came in the opening inning, as Hill singled home Foate. Then, after N.C. Wesleyan tied things up in the bottom of the third, Hill gave CNU the lead for good in the top of the fourth. With the bases loaded and two out, Hill doubled to right center field and cleared the bases, giving CNU a 4-1 lead. 

Kristina McLaughlin added an RBI double in the fifth, and Mitchell drove in a pair in the sixth. Senior Lauren Stewart also had a sacrifice fly to increase the lead to 8-1 headed into the bottom of the sixth. The Bishops would cut into the lead in the sixth, making it 8-3, but the game would be called because of darkness after two batters reached in the top of the seventh. 

Krista Townsend (4-3) went the distance for CNU, striking out eight batters and giving up just one earned run. In six innings of work, Townsend gave up seven hits and two walks. 

The Captains return home for a pair of conference doubleheaders this weekend; CNU takes on Maryville College on Saturday, March 23, followed by a matchup against Ferrum College on Sunday, March 24. First pitch for both is set for 2:00 pm.