NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University had a five-game winning streak snapped Friday afternoon, as the fifth-ranked Captains lost at 13th-ranked Virginia Wesleyan University, 3-1. The teams had a scheduled second game postponed due to rain at Broyles Field.
CNU junior
Kate Alger and VWU junior Lauren Bible settled into a pitcher's duel to begin the day, as both put zeros on the scoreboard through the first four innings. The Captains were able to break through in the top of the fifth, when senior
Brooke Greaver made her first appearance of the season. The Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference's Player of the Year last year, who has been battling back from an injury, was called on to pinch hit by head coach
Keith Parr in the fifth, and delivered with a single up the middle to score junior
Kendall Bentley with what would prove to be CNU's only run of the day.
Virginia Wesleyan would answer in the bottom of the fifth, when the Marlins were able to plate a run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore Karley Beltran to even the game at 1-1. The run ended a scoreless streak of 27 consecutive innings by CNU pitching.
The Marlins then jumped ahead in the home half of the sixth when junior Halee Hawkins and senior Julia Piotrowski delivered RBI singles to go ahead, 3-1. Bible polished off the complete-game effort by stranding her eighth runner of the game in the top of the seventh as the Captains fell to 11-2 on the season.
Bible upped her record to 6-1 by scattering six hits and surviving three errors by the Marlins, one of which helped account for the lone CNU run, which was unearned. She struck out five and walked three as the Marlins improved to 8-3 on the season.
Alger took the loss to fall to 5-2, yielding three runs on seven hits with four walks and just three strikeouts. She came into the game 13th in the country in total strikeouts. CNU twice left the bases loaded, in the third and sixth frames, and the six Captains hits came from six different players. The two talented pitchers allowed a total of 13 hits in the game, but all 13 were singles.
Rain intensified between games of the doubleheader, and even though the teams started a second game, they were not able to complete the required five innings for an official result. The teams will attempt to schedule another single game later in the season.
The Captains return to action on Tuesday, playing a doubleheader at Bridgewater College. The first game is set to begin at 2:30 p.m.
