NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- For the second straight season, the Capital Athletic Conference Championship comes down to Christopher Newport and Salisbury. The five-team CAC Tournament has been reduced to two...as the Captains and Sea Gulls advanced with Friday victories.

CNU has the upper hand, as the Captains need to win only once to take the title for the second straight year. Salisbury would have to beat the Captains twice on Saturday to capture the double-elimination tournament.

Keith Parr's CNU squad opened the day with a 10 a.m. contest against Frostburg State, and the Captains advanced to the title game with a 5-2 victory.  CNU won on Thursday over Mary Washington, and for the second straight year the Captains have taken their first two games of the tournament to advance to the title game unscathed.

Christopher Newport, ranked 16th in the country this week, scored three runs in the third inning, and then added single runs in the fourth and fifth to open a 5-0 lead over the Bobcats Friday morning. CNU starter Krista Lewis sailed through the first six innings before running into some trouble in the seventh. Hanah Marshall came on to record the final out and secure the 5-2 triumph.

CNU's three-run third inning came thanks to two home runs. Junior Scoop Simon opened the scoring with a two-run blast to right field, her fourth home run of the season. Freshman Brittney Walters followed with a solo shot, her fifth of 2015. Freshman Rachael Payne added a solo shot in the fourth inning, her fourth of the season. The Captains rounded out their scoring in the fifth when Simon scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of sophomore Jenna Sprinkle.

Lewis picked up the victory, allowing just two runs on six hits with five strikeouts. She is now 12-5 on the season. Frostburg State starter Allison Short took the loss, allowing three runs in three innings of work, and is now 11-5.

The victory improved the Captains to 26-7 for the season.

Salisbury's path to Championship Saturday has been much more rigorous. Margie Knight's squad bounced back after losing its opening game on Thursday, and the seventh-ranked Sea Gulls won the final of four games played on Thursday and then posted two victories on Friday to stay alive. Salisbury eliminated both Mary Washington, 6-2, and Frostburg State, 12-3 in five innings.

Last season the Captains won over the Sea Gulls in dramatic fashion to capture the CAC title. Senior Taylor Dillow's pinch-hit walk-off home run in the eighth inning gave CNU a 3-2 win over Salisbury in the Championship game. The memorable blast came off Rachel Johnson, now a senior, who will likely start Saturday for the Sea Gulls. Johnson pitched both games for Salisbury on Friday, picking up two wins and striking out 20 batters in 11.1 inings of work. Johnson is now 18-4 heading into Saturday's action.

CNU coach Keith Parr said Friday he was unsure who would start for the Captains on Saturday morning. Junior Hanah Marshall and sophomore Krista Lewis have each earned victories in the first two days of the tournament.

The Captains swept Salisbury on April 4th when the teams met in Maryland. CNU took the opener, 7-1, and then dominated the nightcap, 13-2, in a game that went just five innings due to the eight-run rule.

Video and live stats of Saturday's title game will be available at CNUsports.com/live. First pitch is set for 10:00 a.m. at Captains Park.