HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. -- The No. 19 Christopher Newport baseball team suffered a 3-2 setback on the road Wednesday afternoon, falling to Hampden-Sydney College (15-6). The CNU pitching staff surrendered just six total hits but the offense struggled to find it's footing against the Tigers, scoring two runs on six hits and four walks.
All of the offensive damage came in the third inning when CNU took a 2-0 lead just before the home team rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the bottom half of the frame. After the third inning, four CNU pitchers combined for five shutout innings, allowing just one hit.
In the top of the third,
Michael Martorano reached on an error and then advanced to third on a balk.
Drew Caroline stepped in and rolled an RBI groundball to the left side of the infield as Martorano raced home for the game's first run. After another out,
Conner Clark reached on an error and worked his way to second on a wild pitch. Delivering the lone hit in the Captains' run-scoring inning was
Scott Crosson, who blistered a line drive into right field to plate Clark.
Unfortunately for the Captains, the home team teetered back in front in the next half-inning. Facing CNU sophomore
Jay Cassady (5-1), who had tossed 12.1 consecutive scoreless innings coming into Wednesday afternoon, the Tigers rapped three hits in the inning. The last was a bases clearing double from Trey Karnes to give Hampden-Sydney a 3-2 lead.
Christopher Newport put the tying run on in the top of the fourth as
Justin Bowers walked and moved up to third after a single by
Alec Reilly and a wild pitch. CNU left both stranded, starting a trend for the remainder of the game. The Captain also left runners aboard in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings.
Bowers was a catalyst in the CNU attempt to right the ship offensively, reaching on a walk in the fifth and again with a single in the eighth, but never made it all the way around the diamond.
Daniel Elliott and
Justin Liakos each added singles in the game as CNU finished with six hits total.
Following the minor hiccup in the third, the Captains' pitching staff continued it's dominant run through the 2022 season in the outing.
Dylan Weber opened the day with two shutout innings and two strikeouts. After Cassady's third, he settled in for a clean fourth, and then gave way to
Connor Pennell in the fifth. Pennell tossed a perfect 1-2-3 inning to bring on
Danny Checkosky in the sixth. The junior struck out a pair but ran into some trouble with a double and a pair of walks so CNU called on sophomore closer
Daniel Elliott to close out the game. Over 2.1 innings of work, Elliott struck out one and retired all seven batters he faced.
At the plate, Bowers and Elliott were each 1-for-2 to lead the way. Bowers added a pair of walks and Elliott had a couple of sacrifice bunts and a walk.
Christopher Newport will look to rebound on Saturday in conference play as they travel to the University of Mary Washington for a doubleheader. The Captains will face the game one first pitch at Noon.
