NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport was pushed to a second game Saturday by Frostburg State, but the eighth-ranked Captains rebounded to win the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament pod in a second and deciding game in the double-elimination format. CNU, now 33-7 following the split, will advance to host second-seeded Salisbury next Friday and Saturday at Captains Park for the conference title and automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

Keith Parr's squad got off to a rough start, falling to the Bobcats in the opening game Saturday morning, 10-8. CNU recovered to win the nightcap, 6-0, behind the shutout pitching of sophomore Laura Kate Moss to advance in the tournament. Frostburg State's season came to an end with a record of 22-16.

The Bobcats jumped out early to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the opener, thanks mostly to a grand slam home run from third baseman Brittney Platt off CNU starter Aubrey Bates. The Captains battled from behind as freshman Patty Maye Ohanian smacked a solo home run, her 7th of the season, in the bottom of the first inning to make it a 5-1 game.

After the Bobcats added another run in the top of the second, the Captains got closer thanks to a four-run frame in the home half of the second inning. After freshman Saige Cisler brought home a run on a groundout, senior centerfielder Leah Andrews blasted a three-run home run to make it a 6-5 FSU lead. CNU would take over the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, and again Andrews provided the spark. After Sisler reached base on an error, Andrews went deep again with a two-run shot to put CNU in the lead, 7-6. The two long balls followed a grand slam hit by the Newport News native on Friday, and give her eight home runs on the season.

The lead would not last long, though, as Frostburg State rallied for a three-run sixth inning to go back ahead, and senior pitcher Allison Short went the distance to hold off the Captains, 10-8. Bates, who pitched the first five innings, suffered just her second loss of the season, and is now 15-2.

With the victory, the Bobcats forced a second game and CNU Head Coach Keith Parr called on sophomore Laura Kate Moss. The Mechanicsville product responded by throwing a gem as the Captains posted a 6-0 victory. Moss went the distance, allowing just two hits and a walk and faced only 24 batters. She struck out four and walked just one to improve her record to 9-4 on the year.

CNU scored all the runs they would end up needing in the second inning, as sophomore Tara Deck and Sisler drove home runs with singles to put the Captains in front, 2-0. Christopher Newport would add another run in the third on an RBI single from sophomore Grace Wild. Sophomore catcher Calah Savage cracked her third home run of the season, a solo shot, leading off the sixth inning...and the Captains would add two more insurance runs in the seventh on a fielder's choice by Savage and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Deck.

Grace Wild led the way at the plate for CNU, going five-for-eight in the two games. Wild posted three singles and two doubles and scored three times. 

Christopher Newport will now advance to host Salisbury in a best-of-three format next Friday and Saturday at Captains Park. The Sea Gulls were also pushed to a second game on Saturday, but survived with a 9-5 victory to oust York from the tournament.

The Captains and Sea Gulls will play one game on Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., and then come back Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. for a second battle. If necessary, the teams would play again at approximately 12 noon to decide the CAC Champion. CNU defeated Salisbury twice this season in a doubleheader at Captains Park on April 4th.

Game Two Highlights: