NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University split a softball twin bill Wednesday afternoon at Roanoke College in Salem, Va. The Captains, ranked third in the country, won the opener at the Moyer Sports Complex, 11-0, in a game shortened to six innings due to the eight-run rule. The Maroons bounced back to win the second game, 4-2, scoring three times in the fifth inning to pull ahead and then holding on for the victory. Keith Parr's squad is now 30-4, while Roanoke is 18-20 following the split.

CNU's bats came alive in the opening game, as the Captains scored 11 times on 13 hits and sealed the win with a five-run sixth inning. Fifth-year senior third baseman Brooke Greaver accounted for three of the hits, a single, double, and home run. Greaver's solo blast in the third inning was her 12th of the season, and 38th of her career, moving her into sole possession of fourth place on the school's all-time home run list. Senior second baseman Olivia Tullous also homered, a two-run shot in the fourth frame that put the Captains ahead, 5-0. It was the fourth long ball of the season for Tullous.

Senior Jamie Martin benefited from the 11-run outburst in the opening game. Martin improved her record to 13-2 by pitching five scoreless innings, scattering six hits and striking out four while walking just one. Senior Olivia Kim pitched a scoreless sixth inning for CNU as the Captains closed out the victory. Nine different Captains registered base hits in the runaway triumph, and eight different CNU players recorded at least one RBI.

In the second game, the Captains pulled even at 1-1 in the fourth inning when sophomore Natalie Quinlan crushed her eighth home run of the season. CNU then grabbed the lead later in the inning when senior shortstop Kendall Bentley doubled home pinch-runner Reagin Luby to make it 2-1. Unfortunately for the Captains, it was all they could muster off Roanoke's Maggie McCray. 

The Maroons rallied for three runs in the fifth inning, two of them unearned, to account for the 4-2 final score. The Captains were victimized by four errors in the game, two coming in the damaging fifth frame. Senior Kate Alger took the loss for the Captains in the nightcap, falling to 14-2 on the season. Alger threw five innings and allowed just three hits and two earned runs while striking out three and walking one. 

CNU will play its final home regular-season games of the season on Saturday when the Captains entertain the Eagles of the University of Mary Washington. It will be Senior Day at Captains Park, and pre-game ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 12:45 followed by the start of the twin bill at 1:00 p.m.