NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University won its 23rd straight game to open the season on Sunday afternoon, registering a 10-0 softball triumph over Averett University in Danville, Va. in the first game of a doubleheader. Unfortunately for the top-ranked Captains, the longest winning streak in program history would come to an end in the nightcap.

Averett opened an 8-1 lead in game two and then held off a furious CNU comeback effort in the seventh inning to hang on to win, 8-5, and end the Captains' record streak. Keith Parr's team is now 23-1, while Averett is 9-7 following the split at Cougar Field.

The twin bill on a sunny and chilly Sunday afternoon opened with another dominant performance by CNU starting pitcher Kate Alger. The freshman from Staunton, Va., threw seven shutout innings and gave up just two singles as she improved her record to 9-0 on the season. The sparkling performance featured nine strikeouts and no walks, and Alger faced just 17 batters over five innings.

The Captains broke open a close game by scoring six runs in the fourth inning, and added two more in the fifth to close out the opener in five innings due to the mercy rule. CNU posted two home runs, as senior Sarah Proctor clubbed her seventh of the season, and sophomore Katie Currin slammed her fifth of the year. Proctor went yard with a two-run shot in the big fourth frame, while Currin recorded a solo shot in the third. Sophomore Brooke Greaver delivered the big hit in the fourth, a bases-loaded triple down the right field line that cleared the base paths. Senior Caitlin Abernethy went four-for-four with four singles, and scored a run and also stole a base for the Captains.

In the second game, Averett chipped away by scoring a single run in the second inning, and then broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the fourth, two in the fifth, and three in the sixth to open the 8-1 advantage. The three runs plated in the bottom of the sixth proved to be the difference, as the Captains rallied to score four times in the top of the seventh before falling for the first time this season.

Abernethy added two more singles in as many at bats in the nightcap, to complete a six-for-six day at the plate. She started the scoring for the Captains in the seventh when she delivered her sixth single of the day, an infield hit, to score senior Sarah Proctor, who had opened the inning with an infield single of her own. Senior catcher Bailey Roberts followed with a sacrifice fly, and then senior Kaitlyn Hasty crushed her 14th home run of the season, a two-run shot, to cut the lead to 8-5. Averett pitcher Taylor Sullivan recovered to register a strikeout and then wiggled out of the jam with a groundout to end the game. Taylor earned the victory to improve to 6-2, while Captains starter, freshman Jamie Martin, suffered the loss to fall to 6-1.

Hasty, who leads the nation in home runs in Division III, added to her career home run total with her 48th, most-ever in CNU softball history. Sophomore Brooke Greaver also homered in game two, a solo shot in the fourth inning, her third of the season.

Christopher Newport returns to action on Thursday, ending the month of March by traveling to Bridgewater College. The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m.