SALISBURY, Md. - For the second straight day Friday, Christopher Newport University and Salisbury University staged an entertaining pitcher's duel in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Softball Tournament at Margie Knight Stadium. After beating the top-ranked Sea Gulls, 1-0, on Thursday, the host school gained revenge on Friday with a 2-0 victory over the seventh-ranked Captains in the first game of the tourney's championship.

The result sets the stage for yet another meeting on Saturday, this time in a true championship game in the double-elimination tournament. The Captains and Sea Gulls are scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. Saturday to decide the winner of the three-team tournament. The game time for the title tilt was moved up on Friday due to expected rain in the region on Saturday.

Salisbury opened the day Friday by ousting the University of Mary Washington from the tournament with an 8-0 victory in five innings. The Sea Gulls then returned to the field, and senior pitcher Savannah Sheats took center stage. Sheats improved her record to11-0 by throwing a three-hit shutout vs. the Captains on a warm and clear day on Maryland's Eastern shore. Sheats yielded just two singles and a double, and walked four Captains, but managed to maneuver out of trouble and strand six CNU runners on base.

CNU's only hits of the day came on singles from seniors Bianca Palmer-Scott and Nicole Apai, and a double from junior Caroline Pollock. 

Sophomore left-hander Jamie Martin also pitched well for the Captains, and gave up just one unearned run until a seventh-inning home run from senior Madi Lemon provided an insurance run for the Sea Gulls. SU, now 38-3 and the top-ranked team in the nation, broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth frame when senior Lindsey Windsor scored all the way from first base on a throwing error by the Captains. Martin gave up six hits over seven innings but struck out eight Gulls and did not walk a batter. Her record fell to 9-4 with the loss, as Keith Parr's team fell to 26-9 for the year.

Now the longtime rivals will meet again for the C2C Championship on Saturday morning in what will be the fifth meeting of the season of the squads. The Gulls have now taken three of the first four. The Championship will be the 98th all-time meeting in the series, with the Captains holding a 49-46 edge with two ties. Last year, the teams met four times, and Christopher Newport took all four battles on the way to a 47-1 final record and the program's first National Championship.

CNUsports.com will have any further updates to the schedule posted Saturday as they become available based on weather conditions.