NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport split two games played Saturday at Captains Park, beating Pfeiffer University by a 3-1 score and losing to Salisbury University, 16-11. The Captains are now 5-3 on the season, and will play the same two teams on Sunday afternoon at Captains Park.

Keith Parr's team opened the day by holding off the Falcons of Pfeiffer, 3-1, in a 10:00 a.m. start behind the pitching of sophomore Gracie Vallejos, who threw a complete game on a sunny and chilly late morning. Vallejos allowed just one unearned run, scattered five hits, and struck out seven Falcons as she improved her record to 3-1 on the season. 

The Captains opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly off the bat of junior Kaitlyn Hasty in the bottom of the first inning, and then added two more in the second on a double from junior Maddie Hool. Pfeiffer managed only five hits off Vallejos and an unearned run in the sixth.

In the second game, the Captains and Sea Gulls of Salisbury combined for 27 runs on 32 hits as the Gulls posted a 16-11 victory. SU erupted for all 16 of its runs over the last five innings after the Captains had recorded an early 3-0 lead. Salisbury scored five runs in the third frame and then added four more in both the fifth and sixth innings en route to the five-run triumph.

Junior Kaitlyn Hasty registered the first home run of the day for CNU, a solo shot in the third inning. She ended up three-for-four with two RBI's in the nightcap. Senior catcher Emerald Cheesbrew delivered a two-run shot in the sixth inning and was three-for-three with four runs batted in for the Captains.

Freshman Jessie Kantor took the loss for the Captains, falling to 0-1 on the season. Kantor entered the game in the fourth inning with the score tied at 5-5 in relief of senior starter Emily Weatherholtz.

Saturday's other games at Captains Park saw Virginia Wesleyan post a 7-3 win over Pfeiffer, and in the final game of a four-game schedule, the Falcons of Pfeiffer shut out the Sea Gulls of Salisbury, 7-0.

Following Saturday's games, Pfeiffer is now 5-4 on the season...while Salisbury is 1-3. Virginia Wesleyan improved to 9-0 with its victory.

Sunday's schedule will feature the Captains hosting Pfeiffer at 3:00 p.m. followed by CNU vs. Salisbury at 5:30 p.m. Due to CoVID-19 protocols, no spectators will be allowed to attend Sunday's games at Captains Park, but live video and live stats will be available once again on CNUsports.com.