NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Three home runs proved to be the difference in a tightly-contested matchup against Susquehanna University (0-1) on Saturday afternoon as the 25th-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team outlasted the River Hawks in an 8-7 final.
Eric O'Brien,
Michael Martorano, and
Evan Baer each hit their first career round-trippers for the Captains, including the game-deciding solo shot by Baer in the bottom of the 8th inning, as Christopher Newport improved to 4-3 this season.
The Captains took a 2-0 lead before Susquehanna responded with a six-run fourth inning to take a four-run lead. Christopher Newport used two swings of the bat in the bottom of the fifth to rally back for the lead, 7-6, but the River Hawks tied things up again in the top of the eighth with a run. That would set up Baer's lead-off go-ahead blast over the left field wall to give the home team an 8-7 advantage with just three outs left to seal the win. Senior closer
Brian Owens stepped in and promptly retired the side in order for his fifth career save, moving into the top-ten all-time at Christopher Newport.
Tyler Jumper (1-0) earned the win in relief for the Captains.
The starting pitchers were in control of the game for the first three innings until the veteran bats took control with crooked numbers in the middle innings. For the Captains, senior
Andrew Suppa started things off with a single up the middle in the third followed by singles from junior
Conner Clark and rookie
Jonathan Fisher. With the bases loaded, senior
Trey Hicks delivered the second of three hits in the game for the right fielder and plated a pair of runs to put Christopher Newport on the board first.
Rookie right-handed starter
Connor Pennell was terrific the first time through the lineup, facing the minimum through the first three innings. He struck out the first batter in the fourth before Susquehanna would take advantage of a pair of errors to take the lead. The River Hawks scored six runs in the inning on four hits and two miscues to end the Captains' starters day. Pennell struck out four and gave up just one earned run in 4.0 innings of work.
Facing a 6-2 deficit after four frames, the Captains answered the big inning with one of their own. Clark led off with a hard ground ball through the right side and Fisher walked before Hicks beat the throw on a slow roller to third to load the bases. That would set up O'Brien's first career home run as he smashed a 2-2 pitch on a line drive over the left center field wall. The grand slam was the second homer of the season with the bases loaded for the Captains and tied the game at 6-6. The very next batter, Martorano, left no doubt in a go-ahead solo shot as the Captains went back-to-back. Martorano's first career dinger was a towering shot to left field that gave Christopher Newport a 7-6 lead.
The bullpen was strong after that as
Gray Goodrich,
Jack Rosenberg, and
Dylan Weber each tossed scoreless frames to get to the eighth. Rosenberg struck out the side in the sixth and escaped a bases-loaded jam with an inning-ending K before Weber struck out a pair in the seventh. Jumper allowed a game-tying run off the bat of Alex Burman in the eighth, but showed poise on the next batter getting an inning-ending double play to limit the damage.
With the game tied in the bottom of the 8th, Baer stepped in to lead off the inning and worked back from down 1-2 to force a full count against reliever Will Carey. Baer then smashed a solo blast over the left field wall to put the Captains ahead again, 8-7.
Owens came on for his 65th career appearance, ranking fifth all-time at Christopher Newport, and needed just 12 pitches, nine strikes, to retire the side for the save. He struck out the first batter, got a nice play by Suppa and a good scoop from Baer for the second out, and struck out pinch hitter J.P. Yore for the final out.
Hicks had the best day offensively for the Captains, going 3-for-3 with a pair of walks to reach base in all five of his plate appearances. He drove in a pair and scored one run. Clark also had a three-hit day and scored a pair of runs with one stolen base while Suppa finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk.
Christopher Newport will be back in action on Tuesday, February 25 at 2:00 pm.
