CNU Press Conference
ALLIANCE, Ohio -Â The season came to a close on Saturday for the Christopher Newport University softball squad, as the Captains were defeated twice by the University of Mount Union in the regional final. Mount Union won the opening game, 9-1, and then recorded a 6-1 victory in the deciding second game of the double elimination regional. The Captains concluded the year with a record of 30-13.
Keith Parr's team had won both of its previous games in the regional on Thursday over Penn College and Friday over Mount Union, but never led in either game on Saturday vs. the host school. CNU was victimized by five errors in the opening game, allowing six unearned runs in a game that was halted for more than three hours due to rain. The Captains only run came on an RBI single from junior
Brooke Zuber in the sixth inning that cut the lead to 6-1 at the time.
In the second and deciding game, Mount Union jumped to a 1-0 lead in the opening inning, and the Captains pulled even when Zuber crushed her team-leading 12th home run of the season in the fourth to tie the game at 1-1. The Purple Raiders would go on to plate four runs in the bottom of the fourth and added an insurance run in the sixth for the 6-1 final verdict.
Junior
Haylee Callahan took the loss in the opener for Christopher Newport and sophomore
Caroline Alger suffered the defeat in the second game at Rafeld-Rogers Field.
Zuber, junior
Candace Slaw, and Callahan were all selected to the All-Regional team. The games proved to be the final for two seniors on the Christopher Newport roster,
Isabel Hall and
Mia Aiello.
Mount Union will advance to the Super Regional round next week with its opponent and games site to be determined on Sunday. The Purple Raiders are now 33-7 on the year.
A link to CNU's post-game press conference is provided at the top of this story.
