NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Salisbury jumped to a 9-0 lead Friday afternoon and then held on for a 9-6 victory over eighth-ranked Christopher Newport at Captains Park. The win gives the Sea Gulls the advantage in the best-of-three Capital Athletic Conference Championship Series, which will resume on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.

Salisbury, the second seed in the post-season tournament, plated three runs in the first inning and then added four more in the second off CNU starter Aubrey Bates. After scoring single runs in the third and fourth inning off sophomore Laura Kate Moss, the Sea Gulls went up by a 9-0 margin on a hot and sunny day on the CNU campus.

The Captains finally broke through with a single run in the bottom of the fourth frame on an RBI single off the bat of senior Savannah Couch. CNU then posted a big inning in the fifth, scoring four times to cut the lead to 9-5. Senior Rachael Payne drove home a run with a double and then came home on freshman Patty Maye Ohanian's tenth home run of the season. Ohanian would end up going three-for-four in the game, extending her hitting streak to 21 games. Couch would later single home another run for the fourth run of the inning, her second RBI of the game.

Keith Parr's squad would continue to cut into the lead in the bottom of the sixth as sophomore Liz Andrews grounded into a fielder's choice making it a 9-6 score. The Captains, though, would end up leaving the bases loaded in the sixth, and then again in the seventh as the Sea Gulls held on for the victory. In all, 27 runners were stranded in the battle, 14 by the Gulls and 13 by the Captains.

Senior Rachael Milligan started the game for the Sea Gulls and earned the victory to improve to 11-3 on the season. Milligan was relieved in the fifth inning by junior Shannon Powell, but returned to the game to finish up by recording the game's final six outs while leaving the bases loaded in each of the last two frames. Bates took the loss for the Captains, falling to 15-3 after allowing seven runs, four earned, in just two innings.

The Captains are now 33-8 and will have to beat the Sea Gulls twice on Saturday to claim the CAC title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Salisbury, now 28-11, can wrap up the championship with just one triumph. The Sea Gulls, who have now won 14 of their last 15 games, were led by senior Kristen Yanarella, who went four-for-four with three runs batted in. Sophomore Dakotah Fraley smacked her sixth home run of the season for the Sea Gulls, a solo shot in the third inning.

Both squads advanced to the final with home victories in last weekend's opening round pods. The Captains had beaten Salisbury twice in a doubleheader sweep at Captains Park on April 4th. CNU now leads the all-time series with Salisbury, 38-37 with two ties.

Saturday's schedule has a start time of 12:00 p.m. for the second game of the best-of-three series. If a third game is necessary, it would begin at approximately 2:00 p.m. at Captains Park. Live video and game stats will be available Saturday at CNUsports.com/live beginning just before noon.