NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Top seeded Christopher Newport University defeated fourth-seeded Mary Washington 4-1 on the opening day of the Capital Athletic Conference softball tournament.  With the win, CNU advances to play in Friday morning's 10 a.m. game at Captains Park against third-seeded Frostburg State, a surprising winner over second-seeded Salisbury, 4-0 in one of Thursday's earlier games.

With the win, head coach, Keith Parr recorded win number 400 since taking the reins of the program in 2004. Already the winningest coach CNU history, Parr adds the accomplishment to the eight consecutive NCAA tournaments his squads have participated in.
 
Playing in the third of four games on Thursday, the Captains got another strong outing from Hanah Marshall who scattered 9 hits over 7 innings and only allowed one run when Mary Washington's Alex Tenney scored on a Hannah Otterman ground out in the fifth inning.
 
By the time the Eagles plated their lone run, CNU had already opened up a four run advantage, three coming in the second inning. Sabrina Hill led off the bottom half of the second with a double to center field and later scored when Captains Catcher, Hannah Cook singled up the middle.
 
CNU kept their foot on the pedal. Brooke Sarrazin pinch ran for Jenna Sprinkle and advanced to third when Eagles pitcher, Courtney Merson threw a wild pitch to the backstop. Cook followed on the play to second. Rachael Payne then drove in Sarrazin when her line drive to left field was mishandled. Tori Clarke followed with a walk and after Ashton Ferneyhough replaced Merson in the circle, Scoop Simon completed the CNU scoring with a sacrifice fly to score Cook.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, Meagan Jones singled, stole second and eventually scored when freshman Brittney Walters singled to right. With a 4-0 lead, CNU turned to their starter, Hanah Marshall for the final three innings.
 
Despite giving up a single run in the fifth, Marshall turned in another stellar performance on the way to her fourteenth win of the season. In the complete game effort, Marshall surrendered only one extra base hit and struck out six Eagles.
 
The win improves CNU to 25-8 on the season and advances them to Friday morning's 10 a.m. matchup with the Bobcats of Frostburg State. Frostburg State and Christopher Newport remain the only two teams in the tournament without a loss and will play for the right to advance to Saturday's championship game. CNU won both regular-season matchups with the Bobcats, winning 12-4 and 10-1 in Frostburg, Maryland.
 
All games in the CAC tournament on Friday will be presented in high definition video on CNUsports.com/LIVE.