UNION, N.J. - Christopher Newport returned to action Sunday morning in the NCAA Softball Tournament, falling to the host school Kean, 7-2. The 11th-ranked Captains had a nine-game winning streak snapped, and will now play Sunday afternoon at approximately 2:20 p.m. in an elimination game in the Union Regional. Keith Parr's squad will next play Neumann, who ousted Mount St. Mary from the regional.

The four-team regional continued after a postponement of Saturday's action due to heavy rain. The regional will now conclude with the title game set for Monday.

Kean, the top seed in the regional and Champions of the New Jersey Athletic Conference, jumped to a 2-0 lead Sunday thanks to a first inning home run from Cayleen Rizo, and then added three more in the third frame chasing Captains starter Aubrey Bates. The first inning home run ended Bates' 28-inning scoreless streak.

Trailing 5-0, the Captains scored their only runs of the game in the fourth on a two-run single from senior first baseman Jenna Sprinkle bringing home freshman Grace Wild and junior Rachael Payne. Wild doubled and Payne was hit by a pitch to set up Sprinkle for the run-scoring at bat.

Kean bounced right back, adding two more in the bottom of the fifth off CNU reliever Tara Heatwole to account for the 7-2 final.

Bates went two and a third innings and allowed five runs on seven hits. The first four batters in the third inning reached base for the Cougars, thanks to two doubles, a single, and a walk. Bates issued two walks in the inning and four in all. The defeat drops her record to 12-3 on the season.

Christopher Newport managed just four hits off Kean starter Shannon McMahon, who went the distance to improve to 24-2 for the year. McMahon retired ten of the last 12 batters she faced to put the game away, and stranded two CNU runners in the top of the seventh.

The Captains, seeded second in the regional, are now 32-9 heading into Sunday's second game. Kean, ranked 13th in the country, will advance to Monday's regional title game with a 35-7 record.