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HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. – Playing past the witching hour on a warm, humid night at Ting Park in Holly Springs, N.C., the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team staved off elimination with a come-from-behind win over LaGrange College (30-18) on Saturday night, 4-3. The Captains (35-11) advance to face Randolph-Macon in the South Regional final on Sunday afternoon following a thrilling matchup with the Panthers.
 
Having endured over four hours worth of rain delays in their first three games of the 2018 NCAA South Regional, the 11^th-ranked Captains finally were able to play a game start-to-finish without interruption in game number nine, an elimination game against LaGrange. The only catch? They would throw out the first pitch at 10:45 pm and not finish the game until after 1:00 am.
 
Christopher Newport rookie Gray Goodrich put together a solid outing in his postseason debut,  pitching into the fifth inning against the Panthers. He allowed single runs in the first, third, and fifth innings, but limited the damage with four strikeouts and just two walks. Senior reliever Ryan Powell came on in a tough situation in the fifth with runners at the corners and one out.  Powell got a groundball out and a strikeout to end the threat, and then the senior right-hander worked through a quick 1-2-3 inning in the sixth with two more strikeouts to keep LaGrange at bay.
 
That would bring up the Captains in the top of the 7^th, where the game changed. After one of the gutsiest pitching performances of the entire Division III playoffs this season, the Captains finally chased LaGrange starter, Zach English, in the seventh inning after three straight hits. Those hits would tie the game when Seth Woodard doubled, John Anderson singled, and Nicholas Baham laced a line drive over the left field wall for a three-run home run.
 
English closed the book on his performance Saturday with 10.1 innings pitched, 8 hits, 8 strikeouts and just the three earned runs allowed from that one swing. The senior reliever earned the win against TCNJ and shutout the Captains for six innings in the elimination game.

The potent CNU offense would not be denied, however, as the blast from Baham invigorated one of the nation's leading units and stirred the Captains bats. Craig Johnson battled through a long at-bat to walk, and then moved up on a Nick DiNapoli sacrifice bunt. Ryan Grubbs stepped in and belted a hard liner into left field that got by the diving outfielder for a double, plating Johnson for the go-ahead run.
 
With a one-run lead, Powell came out again for the seventh and posted another shutout frame. The senior faced nine batters in 2.2 no-hit innings of relief to pick up the win, his fourth of the season. He struck out a season-high three batters and allowed only one baserunner on an error. In relief of Powell, senior Logan Aylor came on in the bottom of the 8^th and retired the side in order during his first career postseason appearance.
 
The final inning would not be without controversy, as Joe Burris came on to close out the win. The senior left-hander struck out the first batter he faced, but the second was hit by a pitch that was ruled over the plate. The umpires deliberated and overruled the call, awarding the batter first base. After an infield single and a fielder's choice, there were runners at the corners with two outs for the final play of the game; it was a groundball to third base, where Woodard collected and fired for a close play at first base, ruled out, sealing the win for the Captains.
 
Burris picked up his sixth save of the season in his 28^th pitching appearance of the season.
 
The Captains will face top-seeded and fourth-ranked Randolph-Macon College in Sunday's final, needing to win twice to capture the regional title. Due to the late night on Saturday, the NCAA Games Committee announced a game time change for Sunday's final, which will now begin at 3:00 pm.