Box Score in HTML Format  ||  Photo Gallery

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A ninth-inning rally against the league's leader in saves would fall just short as Christopher Newport fell, 7-6, to fifth-seeded Marymount University in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament First Round on Tuesday afternoon. The Captains (25-14) fall into the consolation bracket in the double-elimination bracket, and will return to action on Thursday morning at 9:00 am against Mary Washington.
 
Junior designated hitter Brandon Ginch went 2-for-5 with a two-run HR in the first and an RBI double to create some fireworks in the ninth, leading an offense that outhit the Saints, 12-8. 
 
With the win, Marymount improves to 16-17 this season and will advance to play #4 Wesley in the 4:00 pm game on Thursday. The teams battled heavy wind on a sunny day at Captains Park, playing in front of over 300 fans. 
 
The Captains put up five runs in the bottom of the first inning, getting to Marymount starter Collin Bazemore. Jordan Mason led things off with a single and would trot home two batters later when Brandon Ginch delivered a two-run home run to start the scoring. The round-tripper was the sixth of the season for Ginch, when he blasted a no-doubter over the left field wall.
 
After Ginch got the ball rolling, A.J. Nicely walked and Craig Johnson followed him up with a flare to left field to put two on with one out. Nicholas Baham then slammed a hard ground ball through the left side to plate Nicely. With a 3-0 lead, a passed ball put two runners in scoring position for J.T. Bellotti. On cue, the Captains' second baseman singled past the drawn in infield to put the Captains on top, 5-0.
 
In the top of the second, Marymount would get one back as Roy Coates delivered an RBI single in the inning. The Saints would then tie the game with four runs in the top of the fourth, getting Bazemore off the hook for the loss by tying the game. Marymount took advantage of two errors in the inning, and got a big two-run double from Conner Hall.
 
With the score locked at five, both starting pitchers took over with back-to-back clean innings. Bazemore exited the game first, closing out his start with 6.0 innings, 9 hits, 5 R (4 earned), 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts.  Packert would pitch into the seventh inning, but after recording the first two outs of the inning, found himself in trouble with the bases loaded. Coates came through with a two-run go-ahead double to right center, putting the Saints up 7-5 and chasing Packert from the game.
 
The Saints would go to the bullpen, seeing sophomore Patrick Berthelette allow just one hit and one walk over 1.1 innings of relief. Then, Hall, the league leader in saves, would come on to close out the win despite some action in the bottom of the 9th. He retired the last two batters in the 8^th and then worked through the top of the Captains order in the ninth to seal the victory. After Mason walked to lead off the frame, Keith Roberts delivered a shot to the gap, but was gunned down trying to stretch the hit to a double. With a runner on third, Ginch capped a strong day with an RBI double, but Hall retired the next two batters to pick up his sixth save of the year.
 
The CNU bullpen was also strong in the losing effort, getting 1.1 innings from Caleb Myers and a clean ninth from Joe Burris. The appearance for Myers was the 67^th of his career, tying Andrew Cooper (Wesley) for second all-time in the Capital Athletic Conference. He trails only Star Kriger (Salisbury) with 68 career appearances in the CAC record book.
 
CNU will now play #6-seed Mary Washington at 9:00 am on Thursday, April 20 on the campus of top-seeded Salisbury University. The Sea Gulls defeated Mary Washington, 21-6, in the first round on Tuesday. The elimination game will be the first of three games on Thursday, with the winning teams advancing to Friday's action.