NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University split a softball doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Captains Park, winning 5-4 in the opener and falling 14-7 in the nightcap to Salisbury University. The results give the Captains a 27-11 record, and assure that CNU will host the upcoming Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday at Captains Park.
Keith Parr's squad opened the day with another solid pitching performance from sophomore
Caroline Alger, and held off the Sea Gulls' seventh inning comeback effort to win 5-4. Alger went the distance, and allowed just one run through the first six frames before Salisbury scored three times in the seventh. Alger thwarted the comeback effort with a game-ending strikeout, her fourth of the game, and improved her record to 6-0 on the season with the victory.
The Captains trailed by a 1-0 score before erupting for four runs in the fifth inning on a sunny and breezy day at Captains Park. Junior
Simone Thompson started the scoring when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to tie the game at 1-1. Senior
Isabel Hall then delivered a two-run single, and sophomore
Cora Thomas brought home another run with a bunt base hit to push the lead to 4-1. CNU scored what proved to be the winning run in the sixth inning, when freshman
Olivia Miller delivered a sacrifice fly for the fifth run of the game.
In the second game, the Sea Gulls jumped to a 4-0 lead with two runs in each of the first two innings. The Captains responded with a three-run second frame to cut the lead to one. Junior
Natalie Quinlan put the Captains on the board with an RBI double, and Miller crushed her fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot over the fence in left field, to cut the SU lead to one. Christopher Newport later pulled even at 4-4 with a single run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly off the bat of
Candace Slaw.
Salisbury, though, would re-claim the lead with four runs in the fifth inning, and then posted five runs in the seventh to pull away. After the Gulls went up by a 14-4 margin, the Captains scored three times in the bottom of the seventh to account for the 14-7 final. Miller was four-for-four in the nightcap with a home run and double, driving in two runs...while Quinlan was three-for-four with a double and two RBIs. The Captains were plagued by four errors in the second game, and saw the regular season come to an end with a 27-11 record, while Salisbury finished with a 24-14 mark.
Karlie Wolfe of Salisbury enjoyed the biggest day at the plate in the doubleheader, hitting two home runs in each game for the Sea Gulls. Wolfe was six-for-eight in the twin bill with four home runs, a double, nine runs batted in, and five runs scored.
The teams will now compete in the 2026 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, which will take place Friday at Captains Park. Salisbury will be the second seed in the three-team, single elimination event, and will play third-seeded Mary Washington on Friday at 2:00 p.m. The winner of the game will advance to play top-seeded Christopher Newport in the championship game, which will begin at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
In-between games of the doubleheader on Sunday at Captains Park, three former Captains were honored by having their uniform numbers retired. Head Coach
Keith Parr welcome back pitchers
Jamie Martin and
Kate Alger, and third baseman
Brooke Greaver, who all had their stellar careers come to an end after last season. Martin had her number 28 retired while Alger's number 6 was added to the fence in right field. Greaver's uniform number 32 was retired as well as the Captains and their fans welcomed back the trio of CNU softball standouts.
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