Box Score SALISBURY, Md. -- Taking on a top-ten foe in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference regular season finale, the Christopher Newport Captains suffered an 8-0 loss at No. 9 Salisbury University (28-7, 3-0). The Captains fell to 19-17 overall with a 0-4 record in conference play.
Facing one of the top pitching staffs in the nation, the Captains mustered just three hits in the game including a pair in the top of the ninth inning.
Scott Crosson reached in the top of the third with a single into right field before
Josh Reinhold and
Doc Daniels each blazed hard-hit balls up the middle in the top of the ninth. CNU also got a pair of walks from
Justin Liakos as well as single free passes for
Doc Daniels and
Creston Saunders.
The Captains threatened to mount a comeback in the top of the ninth when Reinhold reached with one out and then
Aaron Maxie beat out a double play to keep the inning alive. Daniels then laced his single into center field to put runners at the corners with two outs to bring up
Cameron Slough. The Captains' leading power bat in 2025, Slough blasted a high fly ball to center field into the swirling wind, knocking down the ball and keeping it just inside the wall, allowing the center field to end the game with a falling catch.
Tyler Villa improved to 5-0 with his 11th start of the season for the Sea Gulls after tossing seven shutout frames with just the one hit allowed. Cole WIlliams, an eight-game starter this season, closed out the game with two scoreless innings out of the pen.
On the mound for Christopher Newport, junior right-hander
Cooper Newell (3-4) worked into the fourth inning before control problems ended his 12th start of the year. He allowed seven runs on three hits and five walks while striking out one. Coming out of the pen, rookie
Caleb Ammons silenced the Sea Gulls for three innings. He worked himself out of a jam in the fifth when the leadoff man reached on a double and promptly stole third base. Ammons induced a groundout right back up the middle to hold the runner at third and then got the second out in a rundown. Back in control, Ammons struck out the next batter to end the threat. The rookie then went back out int he sixth and recorded a 1-2-3 inning to keep his strong outing going.
In the seventh, Ammons loaded the bases with a single and back-to-back walks before he notched another K. He then handed the ball off to
Marcus Dux, who escaped the bases loaded jam with an infield fly and a groundball to short. Dux allowed a run on one hit and an error in the bottom of the eighth before getting his team back to the plate with another groundout to short.
Earlier in the game, the Captains got a gem of a defensive play from third baseman
Sam Benedict with a runner on and one out in the bottom of the second. A hard-hit groundball to the left side threatened to sneak through the hole, but Benedict took one step and dove fully extended to make the stop. He hopped to his feet and threw a strike across the diamond for the out and Newell got out of the inning with a punchout.
With the base hit, Reinhold extended his team-long on-base streak to a season-high 10 games. Daniels extended a modest six-game hitting streak and Crosson has now reached base in six straight games with hits in four of the six.
Christopher Newport will close the 2025 regular season on Monday, April 28 at Hampden-Sydney College. First pitch against the Tigers is slated for 4:00 p.m.
