NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Taking on the undefeated Eagles from Bridgewater College (8-0), the 22nd-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team suffered just its second loss of the season on Wednesday afternoon with an 18-1 setback after seven innings. The Captains fall to 5-2 overall this year after the setback. 

The 18 runs allowed are the most given up in a home game since Penn State Harrisburg scored 19 against the Captains on May 9, 2019. The home field advantage at Captains Park , opened in 2004, has been impressive with CNU boasting a 327-120-2 record at home for a winning percentage of over 73 percent. Putting the game into perspective, it marked just the third time in 449 all-time games at Captains Park that a team has allowed 18 runs or more. 

Bridgewater scored three in the top of the first before CNU got on the board with a run in the bottom of the inning. It was all Eagles after that with the visitors scoring four more in the second, six in the fifth, and five in the top of the seventh for the final verdict of 18-1. 

In the first inning, Jake Benedict reached on an error and promptly stole second base to get into scoring position for the Captains' leading hitter, Josh Reinhold. The senior shortstop drove in his 10th run of the season with an RBI single into center field to trim the early lead to 3-1. 

Benedict added a single into center field with one out in the third, but wound up stranded at second base. The final hit of the game for the Captains would come in the bottom of the fourth when junior catcher Cameron Slough doubled down the left field line. Andrew Hearn and Gus Croll each reached base on a HBP in the game as well. 

Head coach John Harvell was able to get 17 players into the lineup including the collegiate debuts for freshmen Jake Mutter and Cayden Diatelevi. On the mound, eight different CNU pitchers pitched against the Eagles including rookie Tommy Blackburn (0-1) making his first career start. Blackburn struck out a pair in the first inning before handing the ball off to veteran lefty Mitchell Mortensen, who also struck out a pair while giving up one run in the second inning. 

Charlie Gunn and Luke Baker put up zeroes in the third and fourth innings. Gunn, a sophomore from Henrico, Va., worked around a one-out single to get through a clean third inning. In the fourth, Baker got two outs before stranding the bases loaded thanks to a nice play at shortstop by Reinhold. Making a play deep in the hole, Reinhold fired a rocket across the diamond to keep Bridgewater off the board in the inning. 

Rookie Cam Comins also appeared in the game with a sixth-inning showing. The freshman has now faced eight batters in his first two collegiate appearances and has five strikeouts with two more on Wednesday. He punched out two of the first three batters before getting out of the inning with a groundball to short. 

The Captains will look to bounce back this weekend against nationally-ranked Messiah University. CNU will host the Falcons on Friday, February 27 at 2:00 p.m. before hosting a doubleheader against the same squad on Saturday, February 28 starting at 11:00 a.m.