HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – The nation's leading offense put on a show Wednesday afternoon as the 2^nd-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team scored a season-high 27 runs on 23 hits and ran away from the Hampden-Sydney Tigers (13-13-2) on the road. The Captains improved to 24-3 overall with a 27-3 victory in non-conference action.
 
The Captains wasted no time in attacking the Tigers pitching staff, scoring seven runs in the top of the 1^st with six hits, including five for extra bases. CNU blasted a pair of two-run home runs and also had two triples in the frame, breaking open the contest before the home team ever even came to the plate.
 
During the offensive outburst, Christopher Newport senior Jordan Mason made a bit of individual history during his first at-bat of the game. With a line drive single into right field, Mason picked up his 200^th career base hit to become just the sixth player in program history to reach the milestone. He is the first player since Billy Steel (2011-14) to reach the mark and joins an exclusive club with Matt Turner (2000-03), Trae Bailey (2006-09), Derek Riebel (1997-00), and Rob Robinson (1997-00).
 
The runs kept coming as CNU scored 25 in the first four innings of play, sending 11 batters to the plate in the first inning and 16 in the third. The biggest blast came in Seth Woodard's second at-bat of the third inning when he cleared the bags with a towering grand slam to left field. It was the third round-tripper of the game for the Captains as Nicholas Baham and Joseph Cutchins each smashed two-run blasts in the first.
 
Senior shortstop Nick DiNapoli flirted with a cycle after blistering an RBI triple in the first, lead-off double in the third, and a two-run single in his second AB of the third inning. He saw two more plate appearances but walked in both to finish the day 3-for-3 with 4 RBI and a record-tying 5 runs scored. He is just the fourth player in program history to score five times in a single game, joining Kevin Burton, Matt Turner, Keith Windle, and teammate Seth Woodard, who accomplished the feat last season against Southern Virginia.
 
All facets of the game were working for CNU on Wednesday, as Trey Hicks made a highlight-reel grab to start the bottom of the third. On a flare shot into right, the Captains' junior raced in and slide to the ground to snag the ball out of the air for an out. Then, in the seventh inning, senior shortstop J.T. Bellotti had a web gem of his own on a hard-hit groundball up the middle by Andrew Kasiski. Bellotti laid out and snared the grounder, popped to his feet and fired across the diamond for the out. He added another stellar stab in the bottom of the eighth, laying out for a diving grab on a line drive up the middle to retire Matt Muehleck.
 
Junior right-handed starter Kyle Darmstead improved to 3-0 on the season with one of the finest starts of his career. He tossed a career-high 6.1 innings and shut out the Tigers through the first six innings. He struck out six, matching his season high, and scattered just seven hits before the seventh frame.
 
He gave way to Corey Williams to close out the seventh inning after Hampden-Sydney finally scratched across three runs against the CNU starter. Williams induced a weak groundball to the pitcher and struck out the second batter he faced to strand a Tigers runner on the bases. Williams retired the side in order with a strikeout in the 8^th to cap his relief effort. Finishing off the game in the ninth, sophomore Carter Strain came in out of the pen for the Captains. After a lead-off walk, Strain retired the next three batters to close out the victory.
 
The Captains went to the reserves starting in the fifth inning leading to an eye-popping 14 different batters earning a base hit in the contest. Baham led the Captains' efforts going 4-for-5 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. Woodard had a team-high 5 RBI, primarily behind the weight of the grand slam, and went 2-for-4 with a walk. Mason finished his historical day with a 2-for-4 effort and Ryan Grubbs also issued a multi-hit performance going 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and 4 runs scored.
 
Among the many highlights offensively was the first career hit for senior Arthur Watts. With one on and nobody out, Watts shot a line drive into right field for the knock. As a team, CNU scored the second most runs in a single game in program history and tied for the third most hits in a game. 
 
Christopher Newport will stay on the road this weekend as they travel to Southern Virginia University for a three-game Capital Athletic Conference series. CNU will take on the Knights for a single game Friday, April 12 at 3:00 pm before a doubleheader starting at Noon on Saturday.