Game 1:  Box Score in HTML Format
Game 2:  Box Score in HTML Format

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport baseball team stayed hot on Saturday afternoon, running their win streak to six games with a pair of impressive showings at home against Frostburg State University (8-7, 1-3). The Captains improved to 15-9 overall with a perfect 6-0 mark in conference play after blasting 26 hits in the twin bill. 

Christopher Newport smashed 10 extra-base hits, including five home runs, while outscoring the Bobcats 20-4 combined in the two games. CNU captured a 15-4 win in game one, followed by a 4-0 shutout in game two, marking the third shutout for CNU pitching in the six-game winning streak. 

The day was littered with impressive performances, including the finest career start for sophomore Logan Harrelson (3-3). Harrelson tossed for the Captains in game two, pitching 8.0 scoreless frames while scattering six hits and striking out four. Locked in a solid pitching matchup with Frostburg State junior Greg Schneider, Harrelson outlasted the Bobcats' ace as Schneider left after six scoreless. The Captains offense then picked up Harrelson in the final three innings, scoring five unanswered runs. 

Working with Harrelson as his battery mate all day, junior catcher Brandon Walker also supported his pitcher at the plate by providing all of the offense in game two. In the seventh inning, Walker gave Harrelson all he would need with a solo home run to left center, putting the Captains up, 1-0. Then, in the 8th, he stepped in and delivered the knockout punch with a two-out grand slam to give CNU four runs of insurance headed into the final inning. The two-homer game was the second in Walker's career, as he set a new career high with five RBI in a game. 

With a 5-0 lead, junior closer Joe Burris would come in and toss a perfect ninth inning, including two strikeouts, to seal up the sweep.

In the first game of the doubleheader, the CNU offense blitzed past Frostburg State thanks to a pair of back-to-back big innings in the fourth and fifth. Senior Michael Thomas (4-1) took advantage of the run support after faltering slightly for the first time this season, but the veteran southpaw was still impressive with 7.0 innings pitched, six strikeouts and four runs allowed. 

CNU took the lead in the second inning when senior outfielder A.J. Nicely crushed his third home run of the season to take a 1-0 lead. The teams traded single runs in the third before the Bobcats would teeter ahead, 3-2, after a two-run fourth inning. In the bottom half, though, the lead would disappear quickly, and more. 

Sophomore catcher Ryan Grubbs tied things up with his first career home run to lead off the bottom of the fourth, kick-starting a four-run inning. Senior Keith Roberts picked up an RBI triple in the inning, and sophomore Nicholas Baham added a sacrifice fly to score Roberts. Capping the go-ahead inning, junior Brandon Ginch added another solo home run, the third of the game, to put CNU ahead by three, 6-3. 

After Frostburg cut the lead back to two with a run in the top of the fifth inning, the Captains offense put the game away in the bottom half. Nicely singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second on an error. After a sacrifice bunt by J.T. Bellotti, Grubbs picked up his second RBI with a single into left field. Three batters later, the bags were filled for Baham, who picked up a two-run single into right field. After the second error of the inning, Craig Johnson stepped in and capped a five-run fifth inning with an RBI single to plate Baham. 

With an 11-4 lead, the Captains never looked back, getting four scoreless innings from the pitching staff to close out the win. Thomas finished strong and gave way to Logan Aylor and Alex Biddison, who each tossed a single shutout frame each. 

CNU would tack on four more runs in the late innings with one in the 7th and three more in the 8th. Ginch picked up the first RBI, while Grubbs rounded out an overall solid day at the plate with his third RBI on a double to left center. Jordan Mason and Baham finished out the RBI production with a pair of RBI singles. 

Six different Captains registered multi-hit performances in game one, including a pair of four-hit efforts. Grubbs put in his finest career effort with a 4-for-5 day at the plate, driving in three with three runs scored. A.J. Nicely matched Grubbs with a 4-for-5 performance, scoring three times and driving in one run. Baham was 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, marking the third time this season he has had at least three hits and four RBI in a game. 

After winning six straight games in conference play, the Captains will now head to Rocky Mount, N.C. for non-conference action at N.C. Wesleyan College on Monday, March 20. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 pm against the Battling Bishops in one of just two remaining non-conference games this season.