NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport suffered a 6-0 defeat to Randolph-Macon Wednesday afternoon in the opening game of a doubleheader, but bounced back to record an 8-4 victory in the nightcap in Ashland. The Captains, ranked first in the country in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's Top 25 poll, are now 19-3.

Randolph-Macon starting pitcher Candace Whittemore improved her record to 9-5 by allowing no runs and just two hits in the opening game. The Yellow Jackets scored four runs in the first inning and two more in the the third en route to a 6-0 victory.

Whittemore went the distance, facing just 24 batters and yielding just two singles, while striking out seven and walking just one. CNU junior starter Trish Webb took the loss to fall to 3-2, and allowed no earned runs as the Captains committed three errors leading to all of Randolph-Macon's six runs.

In the second game, CNU's bats came alive in an 8-4 victory. The Captains hit three home runs and posted 11 hits in all. Freshman Kaitlyn Hasty crushed her tenth long ball of the season in the top of the first, a three-run blast off R-MC starter Madie Rhoads. After the Yellow Jackets answered with a run in the bottom of the first and three more in the second, Randolph-Macon pulled ahead by a 4-3 margin.

The Captains averted a sweep by pulling even with a run in the third and then added single runs in the fourth and sixth and closed out the game by registering two more in the seventh for the four-run triumph. Hasty drove in her fourth run of the game in the third frame with an RBI double to tie the game at 4-4. In the fourth, junior Grace Wild's RBI double to left put the Captains ahead to stay. In the sixth, freshman Sarah Proctor smacked a solo homer and freshman Caitlin Abernethy put the finishing touches on the win by cracking a two-run shot in the seventh.

Junior Aubrey Bates went the distance for the Captains in the nightcap, settling down by throwing shutout ball over the last five innings. She improved to 9-1 by allowing four runs on eight hits and struck out five. Rhoads took the loss for the Yellow Jackets to fall to 6-5, and Randolph-Macon is now 15-10 following the split.

Christopher Newport's three home runs in the second game give the Captains a total of 35 for the season in just 22 games. CNU's all-time season record for long balls is 50 set in the 2011 campaign.

CNU returns home for a busy weekend at Captains Park. Saturday, it will be Capital Athletic Conference action as Christopher Newport hosts Frostburg State. Sunday, Keith Parr's squad will entertain Meredith in a non-conference doubleheader. Both twin bills are set to begin at 1:30 p.m.