NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- A pair of quality starts on the mound and an explosive offensive performance lifted the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team to a couple of wins over 21st-ranked Penn State Harrisburg (5-4) at Captains Park on Saturday, 17-5 in game one and 5-3 in game two. The teams will return to complete the three-game series on Sunday at Noon and fans are reminded that Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 a.m. on March 8. 

The Captains improved to 10-3 on the season with the doubleheader sweep that featured 22 runs on 22 hits between the two games. Three CNU players had home runs in the twin bill including the first career blast by Hank Hardaway and a three-run dinger by Gus Croll in the first game. In game two, Jake Benedict snagged his second home run of the season with a decisive inside-the-park sprint in the bottom of the eighth to break a 3-3 tie. 

Despite 17 runs crossing the plate in the first game, the pitching performance by graduate student Jackson Baird (1-1) headlined the dominating victory. Baird surrendered just two hits over seven shutout innings of work in the start and struck out a season-high 11 batters. It was the third double-digit strikeout game of his career and the first since he K'd 10 over seven innings against St. Mary's (Md.) on April 11, 2023. 

On Saturday, Baird gave up a one-out double in the first inning before retiring eight in a row with seven straight punchouts. Another two-base hit started the fourth, but Baird stranded him on the bases by retiring the next three batters. He faced the minimum in his final three frames, picking up four more strikeouts and a highlight-reel double play in the sixth inning. After a lead-off walk, a Lions pinch hitter rolled a groundball to the right side. Ranging to his right, Aaron Maxie snared the bouncer, fired to second base for Josh Reinhold, who short-hopped his relay back to first where Baird simultaneously made an athletic pick and stab for the bag and the out. 

The veteran right-hander returned for the seventh and struck out the side to close out his impressive start and left in line for his first win of the season. The Captains staked him to a 17-0 lead as he exited after seven scoreless. 

The offense was provided with 10 runs over the first three innings, three more in the fourth and four in the bottom of the seventh. CNU scored four runs on five hits in the first inning when Benedict led off with a single, moved up and scored on a single by Reinhold. Maxie singled to move Reinhold to third and Cameron Slough lifted a sacrifice fly deep to center field. Rounding out the initial burst was Jacob Koenig, squeezing a hard-hit double inside the line at third to plate Maxie, and Croll, with an RBI single to bring in Koenig. 

Doubling the lead in the second, Creston Saunders got on first with a single into left field and promptly stole second base. Sam Benedict then came through with his first hit of the day and also stole a base. Reinhold then delivered an RBI single and Maxie plated run with a deep foul out sacrifice fly. Slough just missed a blast with a hard-hit double to right center field and Koenig added another RBI base hit for the Captains to make it 8-0. 

Everyone getting into the action, rookie Logan Adams kicked off the third with a double. CNU would score a run on an error and Benedict added a sacrifice fly later in the inning. In the fourth, Maxie and Slough walked ahead of Croll, who delivered the back-breaking blow with a blast. The sophomore outfielder connected on a 1-1 pitch and cleared the wall in left field to give the Captains a dominant 13-0 advantage after four frames. 

As the reserves started to come in, the Captains scored four more runs on two hits and an error in the seventh. Jake Benedict walked and was lifted for a pinch runner, Lukas Miller. Ashton Hylton and Reinhold followed with walks, and Jake Mutter came in for the Captains at first base. Stepping in, the team's leading run producer came through with another RBI base hit when Maxie drove in a pair with a double to left center field. That would bring up Hardaway as a pinch hitter and the freshman made quick work with a two-run home run on the second pitch he faced. 

The second game featured another quality start for the Captains on the mound as Ryan Morrison gave Christopher Newport six innings with three runs allowed, one earned. The lefty struck out a pair and left the game with score tied at 3-3. In relief, rookie Cam Comins continued his strong start to the season with a scoreless seventh and senior Mitchell Mortensen (1-0) picked up the win with 1.2 shutout frames out of the pen. Closing out the win for the save was sophomore Charlie Gunn, striking out the lone batter he faced on three pitches to seal the win with the tying run on base. 

CNU took a 2-0 lead in the third when Lukas Miller reached on a one-out walk and moved up on a hit-by-pitch by Jake Benedict. Sam Benedict delivered an RBI single into right center and the second run came in on a fielder's choice by Reinhold. The Captains scored their third run in the fourth when Slough led off with a double and scored one batter later on an error. 

Penn State Harrisburg trimmed the lead to two with one run in the fourth and tied things up with two more in the fifth. That would set up the go-ahead inning for the Captains in the bottom of the eighth inning when the score remained 3-3. Leading off the inning, Jake Benedict hammered a 1-0 pitch deep to center field and the ball ricocheted off the wall and back into the field of play, allowing the senior leadoff man to sprint all the way around the bases for an inside-the-park home run to take the lead, 4-3. Adding an insurance run, the Captains got an infield single from Sam Benedict and moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Reinhold. After a two-out intentional walk to Slough, Koenig came up again with an RBI single into center field. 

In the ninth, the Lions got two runners on against Mortensen after two quick outs. CNU called on Gunn, who wasted no time striking out the final batter of the game on three pitches. 

The Captains will return to Captains Park on Sunday at Noon to complete the three-game series against the Lions.