NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Christopher Newport sophomore Natalie Quinlan blasted three mammoth home runs and drove in eight runs for the nationally-ranked Captains (6-0) on Saturday evening as CNU earned a pair of wins against York College of Pennsylvania (0-2). The Captains won game one, 11-0, and game two, 8-0, in a pair of games shortened by the 8-run rule. 

In the first game, a pair of CNU pitchers tossed a one-hitter against the Spartans as Jamie Martin (3-0) struck out seven over four innings of work. Olivia Kim came on to retire all three batters she faced to finish out the win, as CNU faced just one batter more than the minimum over five innings of work. 

Martin gave up a flare of a single to no-man's land in right field against the first batter of the game. After that, she was perfect. Martin retired 12 straight batters including seven punchouts before handing the ball off to Kim. In the top of the fifth, Kim utilized a web gem of a defensive play from Brenna Morefield in right field to get the first out. Morefield charged on a would-be single before diving to make the play. The final two outs went through Kim with a groundball back to the circle followed by a game-ending strikeout. 

Offensively, CNU scored the first run without a hit when Cora Thomas reached on a hit-by-pitch, advanced to second with a stolen base and took third on a groundball by Brooke Greaver. A wild pitch allowed Thomas to score what would prove to be the only run CNU pitching would need. 

In the bottom of the third, Candace Slaw led off with a towering fly ball to right for her first home run of the season and second of her career. Three batters later, Quinlan added a big fly of her own with a blazing rocket to dead center field. 

The 3-0 lead quickly turned to 11 with an eight-run fourth frame that proved to be the difference in game one. Morefield led off with a single up the middle and moved up on a sacrifice bunt. After Greaver walked, Quinlan grounded to the shortstop and a pair of errors on the play allowed two runs to come in to score. Meredith Brickner followed with a two-run double to left with a hard shot off the outstretched finger tips of the left fielder and on the very next pitch, Kendall Bentley traded places with her after adding an RBI double of her own. 

The Spartans went to the bullpen, but Sammy Drew, Simone Thompson, and Morefield all reached to plate one more run and bring up Slaw for another at-bat. Taking advantage of the situation, Slaw smoked another hard-hit double to the gap and plated two more runs to give the Captains an 11-0 lead. 

Moving into game two, the Captains turned to Kate Alger in the circle and the senior cruised through four innings of shutout softball with just three hits allowed. She struck out four and gave way to rookie Hailey Butler to finish out the win as the offense scored eight runs in the first four and a half again. Butler struck out a pair and slammed the door on the Spartans for the doubleheader shutout sweep. 

In the second game, the offense got moving quickly, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. Quinlan had the big hit in the inning after Greaver reached on an error and Isabel Hall walked ahead of her. Working into a hitter's count, Quinlan smashed a 3-1 pitch over the wall in left field to get the Captains out to an early lead. The inning wasn't over there as Kendall Bentley followed with a walk and a stolen base before coming around to score on an RBI single by Olivia Tullous. 

In the bottom of the second, Morefield beat out an infield single and promptly stole second base to represent an RBI chance for the Captains' top run producer in Brooke Greaver. The senior third baseman ripped an RBI single into the gap in left center and the Captains lead grew to 5-0. 

After a scoreless third, Christopher Newport came back to the plate in the bottom of the fourth with a chance to put the game away. Slaw singled through the left side and showcased her trademark speed with a stolen base to get on second base. York pitched around Greaver with a four-pitch walk, but the strategy would not pay off as Quinlan strolled to the plate two batters later with two on. In an epic at-bat wowing an impressive early season crowd of nearly 200 at Captains Park, Quinlan fouled off six pitches before working into a 3-2 count against the York pitcher. On the 11th pitch of the at-bat, the sophomore straightened it out and delivered her third long ball of the day with a three-run shot to left field. 

It would be all the Captains needed as the lead ballooned to 8-0 and set up Butler's fifth-inning finish. She got a groundball to first base before striking out the next two batters on three pitches each, punctuating the dominant day with an impressive finish. 

Christopher Newport will return to action on Tuesday, March 4 as they host Averett University.