UNION, N.J. - Freshman pitcher Aubrey Bates picked up where she left off nearly three weeks ago, as Christopher Newport opened NCAA Tournament play Friday with a 2-0 triumph over Mount St. Mary College (N.Y.). Bates and the Captains, who hadn't seen action since the Capital Athletic Conference Championship on April 22nd, will advance to play Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. at Cougar Field on the campus of Kean University.

Bates, from Lorton, Va., allowed just three singles and struck out four Knights while not walking a batter. She improved her record to 12-2, and has now not allowed a run in 28 straight innings of work. Bates threw three perfect frames in the CAC title game in relief vs. Mary Washington at Captains Park in her last appearance.

"I have been pitching every day," Bates said following the stellar performance. "I haven't been faced by live batters, but we've all been working hard to get ready since the conference championship."

CNU, now 32-8, has won nine straight games and didn't manage to get on the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth inning. The Captains broke through against Mount St. Mary starter Cindy Connoly and scored twice on an RBI single from freshman Grace Wild and a run-scoring double from freshman Liz Andrews.

"It took us a while to get going offensively but we got a great game from Aubrey and did enough to win," Head Coach Keith Parr said. "You know you're going to see good pitching when you get to the tournament, and today was a tough battle."

Friday's opener of the double-elimination regional was the first meeting ever of the two schools. Both pitchers got off to great starts, with Bates and Connoly retiring the first seven batters they faced. The Knights managed just three singles, in the third, fifth, and seventh innings. Mount St. Mary also had a runner reach base on a throwing error by Bates in the third frame, but all four runners were stranded on base by Bates.

Christopher Newport's big inning in the sixth began with a leadoff walk by junior Leah Andrews, who then stole second base. Wild delivered her run-scoring single to center field to give the Captains the first run of the game. Two batters later, Liz Andrews drove a double to right center field bringing Wild home with the game's second and final run.

The Captains are appearing in their 11th straight NCAA Tournament, and the 15th in the 33-year history of the program.

CNU will play host Kean on Saturday with the game scheduled for 11:00 a.m. The Cougars came from behind with three runs in the seventh inning to beat Neumann in Friday's other game.

Weather reports for Saturday are not favorable, as rain is predicted all day in the Union, New Jersey, area. CNUsports.com will have updated information on the NCAA schedule for the Captains on Saturday as it becomes available.

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