FERRUM, Va. -- Accounting for six of the nine runs scored by the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport softball team, sophomore Kendall Bentley and junior Brooke Greaver each blasted a pair of home runs against Ferrum College on Sunday, leading the Captains (19-3) to a doubleheader sweep. The Captains won 5-2 in game one and added a 4-1 win in game to as Ferrum dropped to 10-16 on the season. 

Greaver got things started early for the Captains when she turned on an 0-1 pitch and left the yard with a solo shot in her first at-bat of the day. She gave the Captains an early 1-0 lead that would quickly triple on two pitches as Bentley and Abby Rochette went back-to-back two batters later. Bentley ripped the first pitch she saw over the left field wall and Rochette jumped on her first pitch to pound out a drive to center field. 

With a 3-0 lead, sophomore Kate Alger went to work in the circle. She struck out the first three batters she faced and worked around a pair of singles in the second with another punchout. The second-year star worked without issue through the third and fourth before the home team scratched across a pair in the bottom of the fifth.

Ferrum pulled within one, 3-2, on a hit-by-pitch, double and single before Alger worked here way out without surrendering anything more. After a 1-2-3 sixth, the Captains offense rallied behind their ace with two more insurance runs in the final frame. 

Olivia Tullous led off with a double down the left field line and Bianca Palmer-Scott reached on a walk to bring up Meredith Brickner. Brickner delivered with a two-out single to second base and Palmer-Scott read the flare beautifully, scoring all the way from first on the infield single. 

Alger finished out the win in the seventh to improve to 10-1 on the season. She struck out six without issuing a walk and tossed her 10th complete game of the season. Her 116 strikeouts for the year sit just outside the top-ten all-time at CNU where Whitney Haller holds onto the No. 10 best single season mark with 123. 

In game two, all the damage would come on two swings in the top of the first. With one out, Palmer-Scott doubled down the line to reach in front of Greaver. The slugger then smashed a no-doubter to right field as all the outfielder could do was look and watch as it sailed well beyond the wall for her second homer of the season. Greaver now has 11 round-trippers, tying Sabrina Hill (2013), Jennifer Falin (2012), and former teammate Kaitlyn Hasty (2021) for the 10th most in a single season. Her bat has caught fire of late, with four home runs in the last five games. 

Not to be outdone, Bentley added her second dinger of the day two batters later after Katie Currin reached on a single to left center. Bentley circled the bases with a drive to left center, giving the Captains a 4-0 lead before even sending their starting pitcher to the circle. 

That starting pitcher would be Olivia Kim, who surrendered an unearned run in the bottom of the first but would not allow another Panther to cross home plate in the game. Using that 4-1 lead to her advantage, Kim utilized the defense behind her to improve to 4-0 on the season with her second career complete game. Kim struck out one and scattered six hits against Ferrum in one of her finest career performances. The sophomore notched a career-high in innings pitched and did not issue a single free pass in the win. 

Greaver and Bentley each finished the doubleheader with three hits and two home runs to lead the offense. Greaver has now reached base in 16 straight games, a season-high for CNU and the longest roll of her career. 

Christopher Newport will return to action on Monday, April 17 as they take on the University of Lynchburg at 2:00 p.m.