MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - Sophomore Aubrey Bates allowed no hits and just two walks in the opening game of a Capital Athletic Conference doubleheader Saturday at Penn State-Harrisburg. The Captains, ranked fourth in the country, blanked the Lions, 4-0. The no-hitter was the 24th in CNU softball history dating back to the inception of the program in 1985. Christopher Newport won the second game, 8-0 in six innings, behind the one-hit pitching of sophomore Laura Kate Moss.

Bates faced just 23 batters in the opener, two over the minimum over seven innings, allowing walks in the third and seventh innings and stranding both runners on base. The Lorton, Va., native struck out eight batters and threw 91 pitches, 62 for strikes. The victory improved her record to 11-1 for the season and she is now 23-4 since becoming a Captain last season. It marked her first career no-hitter, and was her ninth complete game of the season and third shutout.

Fellow sophomore Laura Kate Moss followed with a gem of her own in the second game of the twin bill, allowing no runs and just one hit in six innings of work in an 8-0 CNU triumph. Moss yielded just one double in the fourth inning, and faced just 20 batters at Pollock Field, as the game ended after six frames due to the eight-run mercy rule. Moss struck out three and walked one as she improved to 5-4 on the season.

At the plate, CNU posted 12 runs on 23 hits in the twin bill. In the opening game, the Captains jumped to a 3-0 lead as sophomore Liz Andrews doubled in two in the top of the first, and another run came home on an error before Bates even faced a batter. The Captains added another run in the sixth inning when freshman Maddie Hool recorded a sacrifice fly to complete the 4-0 victory. Senior shortstop Rachael Payne was three-for-four in the opening win.

In the nightcap, Christopher Newport scored eight runs on a dozen hits in the 8-0 win. CNU scored single runs in the first, third and fourth frames to go up, 3-0, and then had a four-run outburst in the fifth. Keith Parr's squad would add another single run in the sixth to finish off the 8-0 verdict.

Freshman Patty Maye Ohanian went four-for-four in game two and Payne added two more hits, completing her day five-for-eight at the dish. Freshman Emerald Cheesbrew and fellow freshman Hool knocked in two runs each as the Captains coasted behind the pitching of Moss.

Bates' no-hitter in the opener was the first for the Captains since April 9, 2014, when Krista Lewis no-hit the Eagles of Mary Washington. Lewis threw two no-hitters in a one-week span, and had no-hit Penn State-Harrisburg in six innings just a week before. CNU has had seven perfect games in the history of the program.

The Captains are now 24-6 overall and 7-1 atop the CAC standings. Penn State-Harrisburg fell to 11-11 overall and 3-5 in the CAC. Christopher Newport returns to action on Wednesday, traveling to Fredericksburg to take on Mary Washington. The CAC doubleheader is set to start at 3:00 p.m. Saturday's road victories give CNU Head Coach Keith Parr 498 wins for his career. A doubleheader sweep on Wednesday would put him at 500 career wins over 15 seasons leading the Captains.