NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University set a new program mark for consecutive victories on Sunday, as the fourth-ranked Captains swept a doubleheader at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Va. CNU held on to win the opener, 8-7, and then ran away with the nightcap, 15-1.
The triumph in the first game gave
Keith Parr's squad its 20th straight win, surpassing a 19-game winning streak during the 2004 campaign, Parr's first as Captains head coach. The victory in the second game pushed the new record streak to 21 games without a loss this year.
"An extended winning streak like this is such a great accomplishment," Parr said following the sweep. "We are playing a very competitive schedule, and we certainly were tested today. There's a lot of the season left, and we want to continue to play well and be positioned for the post-season."
The opening game in Lynchburg Sunday saw the Captains open a 7-2 lead, and then hang on for the 8-7 victory over the Wildcats. Freshman pitcher
Kate Alger struck out Randolph's Diane Mahiai in the bottom of the seventh inning with the potential tying run on first base to preserve the win. Alger, who entered the game in the fifth inning in relief of starter
Abby Rochette, allowed five runs on five hits with five strikeouts, but only two of the runs were earned. Rochette earned the victory to improve to 4-0 on the season.
The Captains broke a scoreless tie by plating four runs in the top of the fourth inning. Senior
Sarah Proctor got it going with a two-run single up the middle. Junior
Bailey Roberts and senior
Kaitlyn Hasty followed with RBI singles to make it 4-0. Randolph answered by getting two runs back in the bottom of the frame to make it 4-2. After a scoreless fifth, Christopher Newport added to the lead by scoring three times. Sophomores
Brooke Greaver and
Katie Currin delivered RBI hits as the Captains upped the advantage to five, 7-2.
Randolph climbed back into the game by plating three in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to two, 7-5. CNU scored what proved to be the winning run in the top of the seventh when Roberts brought home Proctor with a fielder's choice to make it 8-5. The Wildcats rallied with two runs in the home half, but fell short as Alger wiggled out of trouble to give the Captains their new all-time winning streak of 20 games.
In the nightcap, the Captains scored 15 times and piled up 13 hits, including three doubles,a triple, and two home runs in the 15-1 victory. CNU registered two big innings, scoring five in the third and seven in the seventh to coast to victory. Freshman
Olivia Kim was the beneficiary of the run-scoring, improving her record to 4-0. Kim allowed just one run over four innings of work. Freshman
Jamie Martin threw the final three frames for the Captains in relief.
Senior
Kaitlyn Hasty, CNU's all-time home run leader, crushed her 13th round-tripper of the season, and 47th of her career. Freshman
McKenzie Presson also went yard, smacking a grand slam, her third homer of the year. Both shots came during CNU's seven-run seventh frame. Senior
Sarah Proctor knocked in four runs in the nightcap and six for the day. She brought home three on a bases-clearing triple in the third inning, as well as one with a double in the third.
Randolph fell to 5-11 with the losses. Christopher Newport's Sunday doubleheader against the Wildcats began a stretch of eight straight games on the road. The Captains will play a doubleheader on Wednesday at Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach. The first game of the twin bill is set to begin at 2:00 p.m.
