SALISBURY, MD.-  Senior Scoop Simon's first inning home run Saturday morning was all the Captains could muster against the top-seeded Sea Gulls of Salisbury University. The Gulls, ranked fifth in the nation, answered with two unearned runs in the bottom of the first, and went on to hold off the second-seeded Captains, 2-1, in the Capital Athletic Conference softball championship.

The Captains, now 34-7 and ranked eighth in the country, will have to wait two weeks to learn if they will receive an at-large bid to their tenth straight NCAA Tournament. The Sea Gulls are now 34-4 and will receive the CAC's automatic bid.

Annah Brittingham out-dueled Tara Heatwole in the pitching circle in the title game, both going the distance and pitching shutout ball after the first. Heatwole allowed no earned runs on nine hits, stranding eight Salisbury runners. Brittingham struck out seven and gave up five hits to the Captains, stranding seven runners. Brittingham improved to 17-2 with the victory, while Heatwole fell to 15-4 with the defeat.

Following Simon's home run in the first, her ninth of the season, the Captains managed just four singles off Brittingham, two from junior Rachael Shiflett.

The loss snapped CNU's run of two straight CAC softball titles since joining the conference. The Captains would have had to beat the Gulls twice on Saturday to claim the championship of the double elimination tourney.