NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University wrapped up the softball regular season Saturday, as the third-ranked Captains swept a doubleheader at Salisbury University. CNU won a 13-inning thriller in the opening game, 4-3, and then downed the eighth-ranked Sea Gulls in the nightcap, 3-1. Keith Parr's squad finishes the regular season with a 34-4 record, and by virtue of the sweep will host the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament this Friday, May 9th, at Captains Park. Salisbury fell to 32-5-1 with the pair of losses on Senior Day at Margie Knight Stadium.

Both games Saturday were exciting pitcher's duels, and seniors Jamie Martin and Kate Alger each earned victories after solid efforts. Martin pitched all 13 innings in the opener to improve to 15-2 on the year, and Alger upped her record to 16-2 with a complete-game performance in the second game.

"It's always a great challenge to play a strong program like Salisbury on its home field," Head Coach Keith Parr said following the hard-fought triumphs. "Both games were fierce battles that certainly could have gone either way. I'm so proud of how we dug down and competed and found a way to win."

The two Top 10 programs began the day with a three-hour, 18 minute marathon that saw the Captains escape with a 13-inning victory. Martin paired up with Salisbury sophomore Sydney Adolfson, who also went the distance in the circle for the Gulls. After three scoreless innings to begin the day, the Captains broke through in the fourth when senior first baseman Meredith Brickner singled home pinch-runner Zoie Hamilton to give CNU the 1-0 lead. Hamilton was pinch-running for sophomore catcher Natalie Quinlan, who had been hit by a pitch. Salisbury pulled even with an unearned run in the sixth frame and the battle raged into extra innings.

Martin and Adolfson each yielded runs in the tenth and 11th innings as CNU scored in the top half of the inning, only to be matched by the Sea Gulls in the bottom half. Senior shortstop Kendall Bentley clubbed a run-scoring double in the tenth, and fifth-year senior third baseman Brooke Greaver's sacrifice fly accounted for the lone run in the 11th. After a scoreless 12th inning, the Captains re-claimed the lead in the 13th when Greaver singled up the middle to bring home freshman second baseman Cora Thomas with what proved to be the game-winning run. Greaver, who entered the day tied for third in the country in runs batted in, now has 56 for the season.

Martin put an end to the lengthy battle by retiring three straight batters in the bottom of the 13th as the Captains snapped an 11-game Salisbury winning streak with the 4-3 victory. Martin stranded 12 Salisbury runners in the game, and left the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning after Salisbury had filled the bases with no one out. Martin struck out seven and walked three, and all three runs she allowed were unearned. Adolfson took the hard-luck loss to fall to 18-2 on the year. 

In the nightcap, the Captains and Sea Gulls were scoreless until the fifth inning as CNU's Kate Alger and SU sophomore Justyce Richard put up zeroes through the first four frames. CNU ended the shutout when sophomore Simone Thompson singled home Bentley with the game's first run. Senior second baseman Olivia Tullous scampered home on a wild pitch later in the fifth to give the Captains a 2-0 edge. Christopher Newport then extended the lead to 3-0 with a single run in the sixth when sophomore centerfielder Candace Slaw doubled in Hamilton to make it 3-0.

Alger sailed through the first five innings before the Sea Gulls broke the shutout in the sixth with a single run. The long day ended with a line-drive double play to retire the Gulls in the seventh and complete the CNU sweep. Alger struck out nine and walked two while scattering six hits as she racked up her 16th win.

Christopher Newport has now won six games in a row over Salisbury dating back to last season, when the Captains swept all four meetings. CNU defeated Salisbury in another lengthy battle, 3-2 in ten innings, in the 2024 C2C Championship game at Captains Park. The all-time series now has the Captains holding a 55-48 advantage with two ties in the 105 games played since the series began in 1989.

CNU, Salisbury, and Mary Washington will come together to play in the C2C Tournament on Friday at Captains Park. Salisbury will play Mary Washington in the opening game at 2:00 p.m., and the winner will advance to play the Captains for the title at 4:30 p.m. The format for the tourney has changed this season, and will be single-elimination. Christopher Newport will be the #1 seed, Salisbury #2, and Mary Washington #3.