GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Junior first baseman Aaron Maxie rapped a career-high five base hits including three doubles to drive in five runs for the second straight game as he and the rest of the CNU baseball lineup erupted for 17 runs in a mercy-rule victory against nationally-ranked Cortland (1-2) on Saturday afternoon. Playing at the D3 Showcase in First National Bank Field, home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Captains scored 10 runs in the first three innings to pull away from the Red Dragons and improve to 5-1 on the season. 

Maxie, who also drove in five against Marietta in Friday's nightcap, headlined a top-to-bottom performance by the CNU lineup as the Captains scored 17 runs on 16 hits while showing patience at the plate to the tune of 13 walks. Six CNU players logged multi-hit performances and eight of the nine in the starting lineup crossed the plate. All nine had at least one RBI or one run scored in the game. 

After the bullpen was decimated by 19 innings of baseball on Friday, the Captains got a heroic effort from the only two pitchers who did not appear in the two games on day one. Cooper Newell (2-0) shook off a four-run first inning to carry the load and pick up the win after 5.0 innings pitched. He handed the ball off to rookie Tommy Blackburn for the final two frames as the freshman struck out three in his second appearance of the season.

The offense got started in the first inning when senior Jake Benedict laced his fifth double of the season to lead things off. Sophomore Ashton Hylton made the smart play and sacrificed him over to third and Josh Reinhold snagged the first RBI of the day with a laser off the pitcher.

Cortland, ranked No. 13 in the D3baseball.com Top 25 and No. 21 in the ABCA Preseason Coaches Poll, answered the early run with four runs of their own in the bottom half. The Red Dragons smacked four straight base hits to take the lead and finished out the inning with four runs on five hits and an error. 

Unfazed, the Captains offense got right back to work in the top of the second. Stone Lasseigne worked a one-out walk and Logan Adams singled through the left side before both would move up on a wild pitch. Benedict walked to load the bases and force a reliever into the game. The first bullpen arm struggled with his command and CNU recorded back-to-back RBI free passes from Hylton and Reinhold to pull back within one, 4-3. Then came Maxie's first double of the day with a two-run smash into the corner down the right field line. His two-bagger put the Captains ahead, 5-4, and CNU would not give up the lead again. Cameron Slough was intentionally walked to load the bases again and Jacob Koenig delivered a sacrifice fly to cap the five-run second inning. 

Even though the Red Dragons scratched a run across in the bottom of the second, Newell got out of the inning without giving up the lead, stranding a pair. The Captains bats came alive again in the third, scoring four runs on four more hits. Adams singled and stole second before racing home on Benedict's second double of the day. Hylton walked again and Benedict moved up to third on a flyball by Reinhold. With Maxie at the plate again, he went the opposite way this time and raced 180 feet to second base while Benedict scored and Hylton moved up to third. Forcing another pitching change, the Captains would score another run on a wild pitch and Slough got in on the hit parade with an RBI single into left field. 

Taking a 10-5 lead, Newell settled in and showed off his veteran resolve. Despite three Red Dragons reaching in the third, Newell left them stranded with a pivotal punchout and a flyball to right field. In the fourth, he struck out the side and, in the fifth, he kept the ball on the infield and worked around a two-out single to strand yet another Cortland base runner. 

The offense kept humming, adding four more insurance runs to the total in those two frames. Brayden Mazzoni led off the fourth with a single and the bases were juiced again when Lasseigne walked and Benedict was hit by a pitch. Mazzoni scampered home on a wild pitch and, two more walks later, Reinhold had an RBI free pass. With nowhere to put him, the Red Dragons had to pitch to Maxie again and this time he was finally retired. Unfortunately for Cortland, even his outs were productive as the left-handed first baseman launched a high fly ball to right field deep enough to plate a run with a sacrifice fly. 

In the fifth, Mazzoni added another lead-off single and scored two batters later when Adams singled up the middle to drive him in. Finally, the scoreboard lit up three more times in the sixth when Reinhold led off with a double, Maxie added his fourth hit, third double, to drive him in, and Slough traded places with him with CNU's third straight two-base hit. Lasseigne snagged an RBI on a groundball with a runner at third and CNU piled up its 17th run of the game. 

After scoring 21 runs in a win against Marietta on Friday, the Captains recorded 17 more on Saturday to log the most runs in back-to-back games since March 2003 when CNU scored downed Greensboro (16-7) and St. Mary's (Md.) (23-0) in consecutive appearances. CNU also scored 38 in wins against Gallaudet (18-5) and Bridgewater (20-12) in March 2020 and posted 37 runs in back-to-back games against St. Mary's (Md.) in 2019. 

Newell gave way to Blackburn for the final two innings and the rookie pitched into some trouble in the bottom of the sixth. Cortland put two on with a hit-by-pitch and a double, but Blackburn locked in and struck out back-to-back batters. The Red Dragons loaded the bases, but Blackburn got out of the mess with a line drive into left field. In the seventh, Blackburn cruised with his third strikeout and a pair of clean outs surrounding a single to close out the win. 

Maxie went 5-for-5 in six plate appearances with a sacrifice fly, 5 RBI, and two runs scored. Adams was 3-for-5 with a stolen base and tacked on two runs and an RBI for the Captains. Benedict, Reinhold, Slough, and Mazzoni each recorded two-hit performances while Reinhold and Slough added three walks to reach base in five of their six plate appearances. 

CNU improved to 5-1 overall with the win and will now return home for four straight after the trip to North Carolina. The Captains will host Bridgewater College on Wednesday, February 25 at 2:00 p.m. before welcoming in seventh-ranked Messiah College for a three-game set this weekend between February 27-28.