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FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Playing the first of five games in a six-day stretch, the Christopher Newport baseball team could not overcome a rough first inning, falling 8-4 at Mary Washington on Tuesday afternoon. The Captains (10-10, 4-8) outscored the Eagles (16-5, 7-5) after the opening frame, but a five-run first was enough for the home team to hold off CNU. 

Junior right-hander Blake Ream (1-2) made the start for the Captains, and after giving up the five-run first inning, settled in nicely to give head coach John Harvell exactly what CNU needed as they hunker down for a long week. After the first, Ream shut down the potent Mary Washington offense for five innings, allowing just one run on four hits, keeping the Captains in the game. With five games over a six-day period, Ream allowed the Captains to save the bullpen arms by pitching six innings of work. 

Unfortunately for the Captains, his counterpart for the Eagles, rookie Joe Thompson, was just as good. Through the first six innings, Thompson allowed just one run on four hits, carrying a 5-1 lead into the seventh inning. The lone run for CNU in the first six came in the top of the fifth. Tyler Wood reached on a bunt single, followed by a single to left by Josh Moore, advancing Wood to third base. The rookie catcher would score on a groundout by Alexander Crittenden, getting CNU on the board. 

In the seventh inning, the CNU offense got back into the game with a pair of runs in the top half, closing to within three at 6-3. Designated hitter Bryant Lowry led off the inning with a walk and was replaced by a pinch runner, Taylor Loudon. Wood delivered a bloop down the right field line that found space in no-man's land for a single. Still facing Thompson, Moore stepped in and laid down a picture-perfect bunt down the third-base line to load the bases with nobody out. Thompson made a big pitch against Crittenden, getting a double-play up the middle, but the Captains scored one on the play to chase the rookie left-hander from the game. Against junior Tyler Daig, CNU loaded the bases again with back-to-back hit-by-pitches from Keith Roberts and A.J. Nicely, and Brandon Ginch pulled a single into left field to plate another run. 

The Eagles would answer with two of their own in the bottom half of the inning, regaining the five-run lead. David Slupek had an RBI double and Thomas Weaver added an RBI single in the frame, as both runs were charged to reliever Joe Burris for the Captains. 

In the ninth, the Captains attempted one last come-back try, as Crittenden and Roberts led off with back-to-back singles. Ginch added another RBI with a groundout later in the inning, but Daig finished out his fourth save of the season to secure the win for the Eagles. 

The CNU pitching staff held senior Jono Haught in check, as he went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. Coming into Tuesday's tilt hitting .570 and the clear frontrunner for CAC Player of the Year, Haught has been held hitless only twice in 21 games this season. Even without their leader, though, the Eagles outhit the Captains 13-10, led by a 3-for-3 effort from Slupek, with two runs and two RBI. 

The Captains got a 3-for-4 performance from Wood, who scored twice for CNU. Moore and Ginch each had two hits in the contest, while Ginch had two of the three RBI. Kyle Goddard and Jaxn Lane combined for the last 1.1 innings of work on the hill without giving up a run. 

CNU will host No. 1 Salisbury University on Thursday, April 2 at 3:00 pm. Live stats and video will be available at CNUsports.com/live.