Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Game 1: Box Score in HTML Format
Game 2: Box Score in HTML Format

FROSTBURG, Md. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team scored 12 runs and ran away with a game one victory at Frostburg State on Saturday afternoon, but could not overcome a 5-run inning for the Bobcats in game two as the home team earned a Capital Athletic Conference split. The Captains won 12-2 and fell 6-3 in conference action as they improved to 26-7, 11-2 on the season. 

Frostburg State, fighting for one of the six playoff spots available in the CAC, improved to 17-9, 5-6 on the year. With the split, the Captains fall into a first-place tie with Salisbury, who CNU earned a regular season split with during the season. Just five regular season conference games remain for the Sea Gulls and Captains. 

In game one on Saturday, sophomore starter Thomas Packert (6-0) continued his stellar second season and put the Captains in a position to win with seven strong innings of work. Four of his seven innings were perfect and the second-year arm struck out seven batters as he improved to 6-0 on the season. 

The Captains fell behind, 1-0, after two, but a three-run third inning quickly corrected that for the CNU offense. CNU would on to score one run in the fifth and sixth, while adding seven late insurance runs to blow open the contest in the final two innings. 

In the third inning, Conner Clark reached on an infield single and promptly stole second. He raced home on an RBI single by Seth Woodard, who would then score on an RBI double from Brandon Ginch. Later in the inning, sophomore shortstop Nick DiNapoli singled up the middle to plate Ginch as the Captains took a 3-1 lead. 

Woodard led off the top of the fifth inning with a solo home run to increase the lead to 4-1. It was his team-leading eighth blast of the season and the second of three RBI on the day for the junior third baseman. He would tack the final RBI on his docket an inning later on an RBI groundout to plate Austin Henry. He now has 50 runs batted in on the season, ranking second only to Methodist's Alex Kachler, with 51, this season. 

With just a 5-2 lead after Packert exited the game in the bottom of the seventh, the Captains made sure to give the pitching staff some breathing room with four runs in the top of the eighth and three more in the ninth. Three of the four game on one swing in the eighth when senior Craig Johnson smashed a 3-run homer down the right field line. Nicholas Baham added an RBI double earlier in the frame. In the ninth, Jordan Mason doubled in a run, and later scored on a wild pitch before Brandon Ginch sacrificed home Conner Clark for the final run of the game. 

Brian Owens and Joe Burris each pitched an inning of relief to close out the 12-2 win. With Burris' relief appearance, he notched his 69th career pitching appearance and took sole possession of the Capital Athletic Conference record for appearances in a career. He struck out a pair in the inning and faced only four batters in closing down the Captains' 27th win of the season. 

Ginch finished with a 1-for-1 performance, 3 walks, a HBP and a sacrifice as he reached base in five of his six plate appearances. Clark registered a three-hit performance and Woodard was 2-for-5 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. Mason, Henry, and DiNapoli all added multi-hit performances in game one. 

Game two saw the Captains open a 2-0 lead in the top of the second when Mason delivered a two-out two-run RBI double to put the Captains on the board first. The Bobcats would chase senior Logan Harrelson (3-1), though, after just three innings of work after scoring five runs in the bottom of the third. Harrelson was saddled with his first loss of the season. 

Attempting to stage a comeback in the middle innings, CNU scored a run in the fifth and threatened again in the sixth inning. In the fifth, Baham delivered an RBI double to score Woodard, who reached on a hit-by-pitch. In the sixth, J.T. Bellotti walked to lead off the inning and Brandon Walker reached on an infield single. The two runners moved into scoring position, putting the go-ahead run on second base, but the Captains were unable to plate either runner as the Frostburg bullpen stranded two in the inning. 

Austin Slough and Ryan Powell came on to pitch the middle innings for CNU and held the Bobcats in check with just two hits and two walks combined in the three frames. Slough struck out a pair and Powell worked through a clean sixth inning out of the pen. 

Offensively, CNU got a pair of multi-hit performances from Baham and Walker, but the Captains managed just seven hits in the second game. 

The Captains will look to bounce back in conference play on Wednesday, April 18 against Southern Virginia University at Captains Park. First pitch is slated for 3:00 pm.