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SALISBURY, Md. -- A pair of unearned runs late in the game would doom the second-seeded Christopher Newport baseball team's hopes at a conference championship on Thursday morning, as the Captains were eliminated from the 2017 Capital Athletic Conference Championship in a pitcher's duel, 3-1. The fifth-seeded University of Mary Washington picked up the win with two runs in the final two innings, while holding the Captains to just three hits. 

The matchup was one of the finest pitching performances of the year between conference foes, as the Eagle's starter, sophomore lefty Hank Biggs outdueled CNU's senior southpaw Mike Thomas. Biggs tossed a complete game three-hitter, striking out seven and escaping several jams with six walks allowed. Thomas went eight innings with eight strikeouts, giving up two runs, only one of which was earned. 

The Captains fall to 25-15 with the setback, and Mary Washington improved to 18-18. Despite the strong performance, Thomas was saddled with the loss, falling to 7-3 on the year. Biggs improves to 3-5. 

Neither team could get more than one runner on through the first four and a half innings, as both teams struggled offensively against the starting pitchers. CNU finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth, when Craig Johnson kicked things off with a single into center field. After Biggs recorded the next two outs, Johnson was standing on third with Austin Henry at the plate. The sophomore shortstop forced his Mary Washington counterpart to make a play, but an error extended CNU's turn at bat and allowed Johnson to trot home for the first run of the game. 

The Eagles answered in the next half inning, scoring on an RBI single from Stephen Johnston. With the game locked at one, both pitchers weaved through the seventh inning unscathed. In the top of the eighth, however, Thomas gave up the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run on an RBI single by David Slupek. The base hit was good enough to chase home Christian Hague, who had singled and advanced on an error. 

With elimination looming for both teams, the Eagles added an insurance run in the top of ninth behind a pair of errors in the same play. The unearned run was credited to Caleb Myers, who had come on in relief for the Captains. Myers was making his 68th career pitching appearance, moving into a tie for the most in Capital Athletic Conference history. He joins Salisbury's Star Kriger at the top of the all-time chart in the league record book. He also now ranks second all-time in CNU history, behind only Matt Verdillo (2010-13). 

Junior Joe Burris would come on to close out the ninth, picking up a pair of strikeouts and a groundball out to limit the damage. With his 20th appearance of the year, Burris lowered his season ERA to 1.11 and picked up his 33rd and 34th strikeout of the year in 24.1 innings of work. 

In the bottom of the ninth, the Captains would get the go-ahead run to the plate after walks from Craig Johnson and Bryant Lowry. Both would be stranded, though, as Biggs finished off the complete game effort with a strikeout. 

Keith Roberts led the offensive effort for CNU with a 2-for-4 performance, while Johnson was 1-for-3 with a walk. Roberts added to his on-base streak, running his career-best roll to 37 straight games on-base. It is the second longest streak since the 2011 season. 

Mary Washington advances in the CAC Tournament and will play in Game 8 at 12:30 pm on Friday afternoon. The remainder of the double-elimination tournament will be finished on the campus of Salisbury University with the championship decided on Saturday, April 22.