NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The second-ranked Christopher Newport University softball squad posted back-to-back shutout wins on Sunday afternoon, beating Meredith College by scores of 6-0 and 8-0 at Captains Park. Keith Parr's team is now 13-3 and has won six straight games. Junior outfielder Katie Currin celebrated her birthday by crushing two home runs in the opener, and senior Nicole Apai delivered an RBI pinch-hit single in the fifth inning to end the nightcap due to the eight-run mercy rule.

The Captains used four home runs in the opener to power past the Avenging Angels, and then tallied a dozen hits in the second game to coast to the five-inning win. Meanwhile, Christopher Newport pitching scattered eight hits through the doubleheader while allowing no runs and recording 14 strikeouts in 12 innings of action.

Sophomore Kate Alger got the ball for the opener, and was again dominant in the circle for the Captains. She threw the first five frames and struck out nine to improve her record to 7-1 on the season. Alger allowed no runs on just two hits and walked just one. Freshman Mia Aiello tossed the final two scoreless innings, giving up just one hit.

Currin got the scoring started with her first home run, a solo shot, in the third inning. Sophomore Meredith Brickner and junior Brooke Greaver went back-to-back with solo blasts in the fourth inning to give CNU a 3-0 advantage. Freshman Ellie Post brought home the fourth run on a fielder's choice, and Currin then came back to the plate with a runner on base later in the fourth and hit her second blast of the day. In all, the Captains scored five times in the fourth en route to the 6-0 victory. Currin and Brickner now have three home runs for the year, while Greaver's shot was her seventh of the season.

In the second game, sophomore Olivia Kim got her first decision of the year, picking up the win after pitching five scoreless innings, scattering six hits and striking out four Angels. Kim got all the run support she would need in a four-run second inning. Sophomore Brenna Morefield got the scoring started when she brought home the game's first run with an infield single. Brickner plated two more with a single later in the inning and the Captains were off an running.

Junior Bianca Palmer-Scott had three singles in the nightcap, and sophomore McKenzie Presson drove in two runs with a double and a sacrifice fly. Apai, who has battled back from injury, came through with the pinch-hit RBI single in the fifth to walk it off for the Captains. Meredith fell to 8-10 on the season following the two defeats. 

Prior to Sunday's twin bill, CNU celebrated the National Championship team from last season, as nearly 40 softball alums returned to campus this weekend for a Saturday alumni game and Sunday's proceedings. Christopher Newport was 47-1 a year ago while capturing the program's first national title.

Christopher Newport returns to action on the road on Friday, playing a doubleheader at Roanoke College. The first game is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.