NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- A pitching duel between the defending national runner-up Messiah University Falcons (2-3) and the 22nd-ranked Christopher Newport Captains (5-3) came down to the final inning on Friday afternoon as the visiting Falcons scored five in the top of the ninth to steal a would-be win from the Captains at home, 6-2. 

A pair of Jackson's combined for seven scoreless innings on the mound for Christopher Newport as graduate student Jackson Baird started and struck out eight over six innings for the Captains before handing the ball off to sophomore Jackson Chappell for a 1-2-3 seventh frame. CNU pulled ahead, 1-0, in the bottom of the seventh but Messiah pulled even in the top of the eighth. The Captains offense answered the call again, taking a 2-1 lead into the ninth inning but the Falcons caught fire in the final frame for the win. 

Facing the 15th-ranked Falcons, Baird stepped up and delivered a quality start for the Captains with six shutout frames. He scattered four hits and stranded five baserunners in the game while allowing only one Messiah player to advance beyond first base. In the seventh, Chappell took over and struck out the first batter he faced before inducing a pair of week groundballs to breeze through a perfect inning. 

In the bottom of the seventh, senior Josh Reinhold singled up the middle to lead off the inning and Aaron Maxie smashed the first pitch he saw off the wall in right field to put the first two batters of the inning into scoring position with a double. The Falcons got the first out at the plate moments later, but Jacob Koenig delivered the game's first run with a deep fly ball to right for a sacrifice fly. 

In the top of the eighth, Mitchell Mortensen surrendered a leadoff double with a flare to the gap and the tying run moved up to third with a groundball to the right side. The Captains pulled the infield in and a soft liner to the hole on the right side looked destined to score a run, but Sam Benedict made a highlight-reel diving play to snare the line drive out of the air for the second out. Unfortunately, the next batter singled into center field to tie the game at one run apiece. 

Undeterred, the Captains offense scratched another run across in the bottom of the eighth to retake a 2-1 lead. Brayden Mazzoni led off with a walk and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ashton Hylton. After Messiah nearly escaped the threat, Benedict came through with a well-placed groundball through the right side for the go-ahead RBI. 

In the ninth, junior transfer Alex Shelkin got the first two outs but could not finish out the save as a single up the middle plated the game-tying run for Messiah. From there, the Falcons scored four more on three hits to pull away with the late rally. 

Maxie singled in the bottom of the ninth for his third hit of the day. He finished 3-for-4 in the game with a run scored and a double while the top three hitters, Jake Benedict, Sam Benedict, and Reinhold each finished with one hit apiece. 

The two teams will return to the field on Saturday to close out the three-game series with a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m.