NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Senior pitcher Jamie Martin was not only perfect on Sunday, but she struck out every batter she faced in five innings of work. Martin led the third-ranked Captains of Christopher Newport University to an 8-0 victory over Meredith College in the first game of a doubleheader at Captains Park. CNU took the nightcap as well, winning 18-1 in another game shortened to five innings due to the eight-run mercy rule. The Captains are now 23-1 on the year and 17-1 at home, and have won 11 straight games.

Martin, a lefty from Lorton, Va., sailed through the Meredith lineup and became the first pitcher in CNU history to retire every batter by strikeout in a game. Martin struck out 15 straight Avenging Angels to come to the plate, nine swinging and six looking, and improved her record to 9-1 on the year. Only Michelle Kass-Prewitt has struck out more in a game, and holds the CNU mark with 17, set in a seven-inning game in 2003. 

Sunday's remarkable performance marks the second straight season Martin has been perfect vs. Meredith College. Last year, on April 28th at Captains Park, Martin tossed a five inning perfect game vs. the Avenging Angels in a 13-0 Captains victory. She struck out 13 of 15 batters she faced, and ironically also raised her record to 9-1 at the time just as she did on Sunday. The Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year last year has also authored two no-hitters in addition to her two perfect games during her career as a Captain. Martin no-hit Salisbury last season in the C2C Tournament, and also tossed a no-hitter vs. Mary Washington as a freshman in 2022, the year she was voted the National Freshman of the Year.

At the plate Sunday, the Captains provided all the support Martin would need with two runs in the first inning on a mild and partly sunny day at Captains Park. Senior Sammy Drew smacked a two-run first inning home run to get things started, the first of three CNU homers on the day, and the Captains would add single runs in the second and third innings before plating four in the fourth to provide the 8-0 final verdict. Senior Meredith Brickner was three-for-three with three singles, and senior Kendall Bentley joined Drew with two runs batted in as Keith Parr's squad cruised behind the pitching of Martin.

In the second game, senior Kate Alger also was dominant in the circle as the Captains erupted for 18 runs on 13 hits en route to the 18-1 triumph. Alger upped her record to 11-0 and struck out eight of the ten batters she faced over the first three innings, leaving the game once the Captains had opened up a 16-0 lead thanks to a ten-run third inning. CNU had scored six times in the second inning.

Ten different Captains recorded base hits in the nightcap, with sophomore Candace Slaw going three-for-four with four runs batted in, including a three-run double in the third inning. Senior Reagin Luby recorded her first career base hit, and Drew and sophomore Natalie Quinlan launched home runs. Drew's second long ball of the day came in the fourth frame, a solo shot, for her third of the season. Quinlan crushed her fifth home run of the year, a three-run blast, to start the scoring barrage in the second inning.

Meredith fell to 11-15 with the pair of losses, and the Captains have now won 40 of 43 all-time meetings with the Avenging Angels.

Christopher Newport will conclude a 14-game home stand on Wednesday when the Captains take on the Battling Bishops of North Carolina Wesleyan at Captains Park. The twin bill is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.