NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Christopher Newport University softball squad recorded two 6-5 victories Friday at the University of Lynchburg. The fourth-ranked Captains improved their record to 17-7 on the season with the sweep, while Lynchburg is now 11-9.
While the final scores of the games were the same, the two contests were very different.

In the opener, Keith Parr's squad built a 6-0 lead and then had to hang on for the win. The Captains then mounted a comeback in the nightcap after falling behind, 3-0, on a sunny and breezy day at Moon Field.

For the second straight day, Christopher Newport was powered by a grand slam home run. In the opening game, junior Caroline Helmer crushed her second long ball of the season in the fifth inning with the bases full to give CNU a 6-0 advantage. Junior Bailey Roberts delivered a grand slam home run on Thursday in a Captains home win over Bridgewater.

Lynchburg then rallied in the late innings of the first game, scoring a run in the fifth, and four more in the seventh only to fall short by a run in the 6-5 verdict.

Senior Maddie Hool opened the scoring with an RBI single in the top of the first, one of three singles she posted in the game. Junior Kaitlyn Hasty knocked in Hool with an RBI double later in the inning, the first of two doubles for Hasty in the opener. Senior Emily Weatherholtz went the distance in the circle for the Captains, improving her record to 8-2 for the year. Weatherholtz yielded just one earned run and struck out six in seven innings of work.

In the nightcap, the Hornets plated single runs in the first, second, and fourth innings to build a 3-0 lead before the Captains bats came alive in a five-run fifth frame. Roberts singled to score the first run of the game for CNU, and Helmer followed with a two-run double to even the contest at 3-3. Sophomore Kensley Hess broke the tie by driving in two later in the big inning with a single to put the Captains ahead, 5-3.

The Hornets stormed back by pulling even at 5-5 with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, only to have the Captains go ahead again with a single run in the top of the seventh. Freshman Caroline Pollock walked with the bases loaded to provide the deciding run in the 6-5 triumph. Sophomore Gracie Vallejos upped her record to 8-3 by going the distance in the second game. Vallejos struck out seven and scattered eight hits.

Roberts was four-for-four with four singles in the second game, and was five-for-seven at the plate in the doubleheader. She raised her team-high batting average to .455.

The Captains continue their season on Tuesday, traveling to Raleigh, N.C., for a doubleheader at William Peace University. The first game is set to begin at 2:30 p.m.