NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University settled for a split Sunday afternoon in a softball doubleheader at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C. CNU won the opener by a 10-6 score, and then fell in the nightcap, 4-3. Keith Parr's squad is now 20-10 on the season, while the Avenging Angels are 19-13.

CNU opened the day with an offensive outburst, scoring ten runs on 15 hits in the 10-6 triumph. The Captains trailed after two winnings, 4-2, but plated eight runs over four frames to pull away to the win. Sophomore Alexah Gordon led the way for CNU, posting four singles in five at bats, and also scored twice and drove in a run. Junior Brooke Zuber registered three hits in five trips, and drove in a run with a fourth inning double. Freshman Olivia Miller drove home three runs thanks to a third inning double, and a two-run single in the sixth.

Sophomore Caroline Alger returned from an early-season injury in the opener, and pitched the final five innings in relief to improve her record to 2-0 on the season. Alger allowed just two runs on three hits and struck out three over the final five frames.

Game two saw Christopher Newport score three times in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead. Unfortunately, the runs would be the only scoring for CNU in the game as the Avenging Angels came from behind to post the 4-3 victory. Brooke Zuber crushed her team-leading ninth home run of the season, a three run blast in the third, for the only runs of the game for the visitors. With the three-run homer, Zuber now also has a team-high in runs batted in with 36 over the first 30 games.

Meredith, however, answered quickly by scoring three times in the bottom of the third to take the 4-3 lead, and both squads were held scoreless over the final four frames. CNU rallied in the seventh, as junior Candace Slaw singled with two outs and advanced to third on a passed ball...but was stranded there with the potential game-tying run. Freshman Cora Grace Sparger took the loss for CNU in the nightcap to fall to 11-5 on the season.  

The Captains next will travel to Rocky Mount, N.C., on Wednesday for a doubleheader at North Carolina Wesleyan University. The action is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. CNU returns home to play Roanoke College twice next Sunday, April 19th, with Senior Day ceremonies set to take place before the 12:30 p.m. first pitch.