NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Junior outfielder Jake Benedict kicked off a tremendous day at the plate with a solo home run in the bottom of the first and the Christopher Newport offense took off from there as the Captains outscored Southern Virginia, 17-4, over seven innings at Captains Park on Tuesday afternoon. Benedict reached base in all six plate appearances, scored four times and went 4-for-4 with a homer, triple, two singles, and a pair of walks. 

The leadoff man highlighted an offensive explosion for the Captains on Tuesday as Christopher Newport blasted four home runs and scored 17 runs on 15 hits against the Knights. In addition to Benedict's big day, Ayden Stuffel drove in a team-high six runs including a grand slam in the second inning that broke the game wide open; he finished the game 2-for-3 with a double and a homer. 

All nine starters crossed the plate at least once in the game as CNU improved to 14-10 with the victory while Southern Virginia falls to 5-13. Benedict led the way with four runs scored while his brother, Sam Benedict, was 2-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored, and Scott Crosson also scored three runs in a 2-for-3 effort at the plate. 

Courtesy of the aforementioned leadoff blast, the Captains jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. After Benedict left the yard to left field, Sam Benedict walked and moved up on an infield single by Josh Reinhold. Aaron Maxie walked to load the bases and Stuffel plated the second run on a sacrifice fly. 

The Knights answered back with four runs on three hits in the top of the second, but the Southern Virginia lead was temporary as Christopher Newport sent 14 batters to the plate in the bottom of the second. In the big inning, CNU scored nine runs on six hits and took advantage of one error as the home team opened up an 11-4 lead. Crosson and Jake Benedict walked, and moved up on the 21st career sacrifice bunt by Sam Benedict. With two outs, the Captains did all of their damage as Maxie walked to load the bases again and Justin Liakos walked to bring in a run. Then came Stuffel, who wasted no time jumping on the first pitch he saw for the big blast to right field. Stuffel's grand slam helped CNU retake the lead and forced SVU to call on another reliever. 

Cameron Slough reached on an error to keep the inning going and Lincoln Lubsen stepped in behind him. Facing a 2-2 count, Lubsen turned on the next pitch and hammered a two-run shot over the left field wall for the third round-tripper of the game by CNU hitters. CNU then unleashed a barrage of singles with Crosson, both Benedicts, and Reinhold reaching on base hits to score twice more. 

In the fourth inning, CNU tacked on another run when Maxie singled through the right side to plate Benedict for his fourth run of the day. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, CNU scored four more in another highlight-filled inning. Crosson singled into left field with one out and then raced all the way around the bases on a triple by Jake Benedict that sailed over the center fielder and all the way to the wall. The next batter, Sam Benedict, hit a fly ball to right center that kept tailing away from the right fielder. Unable to haul it in, the ball caromed off his outstretched glove and into center field, allowing Benedict to sprint all the way around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. 

Not to be outdone, Stuffel added an RBI double into the corner after walks by Reinhold and Maxie. The offensive outburst came to a close in the bottom of the sixth when Lubsen came in to score on a bases loaded wild pitch, capping a 17-run effort. 

On the mound, Christopher Newport started with rookie Charlie Gunn, who went two innings and surrendered four runs on four hits. He handed the ball to Mitchell Mortensen, who made his first appearance of the season after rehabbing an injury. Mortensen was lights out, working quickly through three scoreless frames to earn the win and improve to 1-0 on the season. He surrendered two hits and a walk while striking out one. 

Next, Nate Toomey retired the side in order in the sixth with a perfect 1-2-3 inning. And finally, Jackson Chappell also worked a clean seventh inning to finish out the win. He struck out one and finished out a ten-pitch battle against Zack Geertsten for the final out with a flyball to right. 

CNU closed out the win with a 10-run rule victory after seven innings and will now set their sights on North Carolina Wesleyan University on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. The last time the two teams faced off was last May in the NCAA Regional Championship Game at Captains Park, where CNU earned a hard-fought 6-5 win to advance to the Super Regionals. Live stats and a live video webcast will be available at CNUsports.com.