NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Austin Henry roped three hits for the Captains, while
Keith Roberts knocked in a pair, but the Christopher Newport baseball team could not quite overcome its early deficit as CNU dropped an 8-5 decision to Ferrum on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at Captains Park.
Henry chipped in with his third multi-hit outing of the season after smacking three hits, including an RBI double in the ninth inning. Roberts also pumped a two-run double during the sixth inning to help the Captains chip away at their deficit, but the Panthers had enough breathing room to survive the late scares and pull out the victory.
With the win, Ferrum improves to 1-2 on the season, while Christopher Newport falls to 2-4.
After the Panthers struck for a pair of runs in the first, CNU showed its resolve and quickly responded. In the bottom half of the inning,
Jordan Mason led off with a single and quickly advanced to third after a failed pickoff attempt. Still showing his wheels, he scooted home on a sacrifice fly by
Joseph Cutchins to cut the deficit in half.
Although Ferrum was able to retake a two-run lead after scratching out an unearned run in the second,
Logan Harrelson settled in on the mound for the Captains. Showing off his electric repertoire, he sent eight straight batters down swinging, including perfect frames in the third and fourth. Unfortunately, the Panthers eventually struck again, plating three runs in the middle innings to snatch a 6-1 advantage.
Staring at a five-run deficit entering the bottom of the sixth, Christopher Newport regrouped. Henry kicked things off with a single to short before Mason drew a walk. Playing some small ball, Cutchins laid down a perfect bunt to advance the runners before
Nicholas Baham punched a single to left, which brought home Henry.
With two on and two out, Roberts stepped in to keep the rally alive. The senior laced a 1-1 offering to deep left, which eventually landed for a two-run double that pulled the Captains within two at 6-4.
Looking to keep the Panthers quiet,
Joe Burris worked two spotless innings of relief and benefited from some stellar defense. In the seventh, Cutchins made a great diving play to his left at second base. One inning later, Roberts gloved a line-drive rope to third, which ended a modest threat and kept the deficit at two.
Sadly, Ferrum capitalized on a pair of errors in the ninth to score two more unearned runs and take a commanding 8-4 lead into the bottom of the frame. Refusing to go down quietly,
Craig Johnson lifted a leadoff double to left center before Henry followed with a two-base knock of his own that brought in the squad's fifth run. Unfortunately, the deficit was simply too large to overcome as the Panthers settled in and closed out the victory without any further damage.
Joey Pride earned the win for Ferrum after scattering five hits and three earned runs over 5.2 innings of work. Harrelson took the loss despite striking out a career-high nine batters over 5.1 frames.
Christopher Newport and Ferrum will cap off the three-game series with the rubber-match on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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