FERRUM, Va. - The Christopher Newport University softball team opened the 2025 season on Sunday with a doubleheader sweep over the Panthers of Ferrum College. CNU took the opener by a 7-1 score, and then blanked the Panthers in the nightcap, 4-0.

Senior starting pitchers Jamie Martin and Kate Alger both pitched five shutout innings to record their first victories of the season, and senior third baseman Brooke Greaver drove in six runs in the twin bill, cracking two home runs in the opener. Sophomore centerfielder Candace Slaw scored four times, and senior first baseman Meredith Brickner also slammed a solo home run in the first game.

"Our pitchers have been working hard and preparing to be strong out of the gate," Head Coach Keith Parr said following the sweep. "Jamie and Kate both put together solid performances today and we got them plenty of run support as well. Certainly a good start, and now it's about growing and getting better every time we take the field."

Martin. a senior lefthander, was in the circle in game one for the Captains, and didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning. She ended up yielding no runs on just two hits over five frames while logging nine strikeouts in the 15 batters she retired. Alger, a senior righthander, was equally dominating in the nightcap, also giving up no runs and just three hits while striking out five.

The Captains, ranked ninth in the nation in the pre-season poll from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), jumped to an early lead in the opener by plating a run in the very first inning of the new year. Slaw, CNU's leadoff hitter, opened the game with a walk, and came home on a Ferrum error to give the Captains an early advantage. CNU would plate two more in the third when Slaw opened the inning with a triple, and came home on Greaver's first home run of the day. The Captains added another run in the fourth, when shortstop Kendall Bentley came home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of second baseman Olivia Tullous to make it 4-0. CNU added another run in the fifth when first baseman Brickner rounded the bases with her first home run of the new season, and Greaver ended the scoring with her second two-run shot of the game in the seventh.

In the nightcap, Greaver brought home single runs in the first and third innings with sacrifice flies, giving Alger all the support she would need. CNU added two insurance runs in the sixth on RBI singles from Simone Thompson, and Sammy Drew to complete the sweep for Christopher Newport.

The Panthers scored their only run of the day in the sixth inning of the opener, and was unearned. Ferrum fell to 0-4 with the losses at Vickie Van Kleeck softball complex. 

Christopher Newport will host its opener at Captains Park this Wednesday, February 26th, as the Captains entertain Randolph College. The doubleheader is set to begin at 3:00 p.m.