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YORK, Pa. -- Making his third start in nine days, and second of the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament, senior left-hander Nick Santalucia delivered another fine pitching performance, but the Christopher Newport baseball team suffered a 5-1 loss in the 2014 CAC Baseball Championship Game to the 17th-ranked Salisbury Sea Gulls (27-7). 

Facing the second-seeded Sea Gulls for the fourth time this season, the third-seeded Captains (23-15) fell in their first ever appearance in the CAC Championship, as Salisbury picked up their third straight title. 

Christopher Newport looked poised for an upset of their nationally-ranked foe, after delivering a knock-out blow to top-seeded York College (Pa.) on their home field late Saturday evening. In the top of the first, Tommy Vitaletti led off the game with a walk and Billy Steel reached on his team-record 52nd career hit-by-pitch. The two runners moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Jacob Houston and CNU struck first on an RBI single from Curtis Pittman, plating Vitaletti. 

The Sea Gulls answered with one in the bottom of the first, as Johnny Schiotis delivered an RBI single for Salisbury. With the score tied, Santalucia locked in and cruised through the next four innings unharmed. He retired 13 of the next 14 batters and allowed just two more hits until the sixth inning. 

The Captains were getting to junior Dylan Anderson, but could not get a run to cross the plate. In the third, CNU had three hits, with singles from Vitaletti, Steel and Houston to lead off the inning, but Anderson wriggled out of the jam to leave them loaded. CNU had baserunners in each of the next three innings, but each time Anderson stranded the Captains.

Salisbury took the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Santalucia got the first two outs quickly, giving him a run of 16 straight outs without any damage on the scoreboard, but a solo home run off the bat of Bobby Sanzone changed the game. SU tacked on another run in the bottom of the seventh, on a Pete Grasso RBI single, and two more in the eighth as Bill Root hit a two-run home run to give Salisbury a 5-1 lead. 

The offense would be unable to support Santalucia, as Grasso tossed the final 3.1 innings for the Sea Gulls, allowing just one hit. The Captains' lefty came into the game making his 28th career start and would exit with his first career loss. Santalucia falls to 7-1 on the season after he threw into the eighth inning for the fourth time this season, going 7.2 innings with five strikeouts. 

Grasso picked up the win, improving to 2-0, while Root's two-run blast led the Salisbury offense as the senior went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. 

The Captains have two games remaining on the 2014 regular season schedule, as they will play a home-and-home series with the Newport News Apprentice School this week, hosting the Builders on Senior Day this Wednesday, April 23, after traveling to War Memorial Stadium for a road game on Tuesday, April 22.