NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- Christopher Newport's softball team came out swinging Saturday, and held off Salisbury, 7-4, in the Championship Game of the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament at Captains Park. It's the second straight CAC title for
Keith Parr's squad, and the second in as many years over the Sea Gulls.
The Captains, now 27-7, will advance to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive season. The bracket for the Division III Softball Championship will be released on Monday, May 4th.
Junior second baseman
Tori Clarke led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run off Salisbury starter Rachel Johnson, a two-time All-America selection. It was the fourth home run of the year for Clarke.
Senior
Sabrina Hill later followed with a two-run single to drive home junior
Meagan Jones and freshman
Brittney Walters to give the Captains a 3-0 lead after the first.
In the third inning, sophomore
Jenna Sprinkle delivered the crushing blow with a grand slam home run, her first long ball of the season and just her second career home run, to push the advantage to 7-0 and knock Johnson out of the game. Sprinkle battled through the at-bat by foulling off numerous pitches before delivering the line-drive laser over the leftfield fence on the 13th pitch of the at-bat.
CNU starter
Krista Lewis cruised through six innings of scoreless pitching, allowing just three hits and no runs. The sophomore ran into trouble in the seventh as Salisbury finally got on the board. A three-run double from junior Paige Knussman and an RBI double from junior Annah Brittingham cut the lead to 7-4, and Lewis was relieved by junior
Hanah Marshall. After walking her first batter, Marshall struck out Molly Simpson, who represented the potential tying run, to end the game.
Lewis picked up the victory and improved to 13-5 on the season, while Marshall earned her second save in as many days.
Johnson, who pitched in all five games Salisbury played in the tournament, took the loss and is now 18-5. The senior pitched 23.1 innings over three days and struck out 39 batters in the tournament.
The Sea Gulls, ranked seventh in the nation, are now 26-6, and will likely receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.
The Captains, ranked 16th in the country, swept all three games in the tournament for the second straight year. CNU had the upper hand heading into Saturday's action, and would have had to lose twice to the Gulls for Salisbury to capture the crown in the double-elimination tournament.
CNU recorded wins over Mary Washington on Thursday and Frostburg State Friday to advance to Saturday's final. Salisbury lost its first game on Thursday to Frostburg State, and had to win three times while facing possible elimination (once Thursday and twice on Friday). Margie Knight's team ended up with eight hits in Saturday's title game, with five coming in the seventh inning.
Christopher Newport scored its seven runs on 11 hits. Both teams left eight runners on base.
The Captains hit five home runs in the three victories in the tournament. CNU will head to the NCAA Championship with 33 home runs in 34 games played this season.
