SALEM, VA (WTKR)- The final leg of Christopher Newport softball's quest for a national championship is off to a great start.
The Captains used big bats and timely hitting to top Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 8-6, in their Women's College World Series opener on Thursday in Salem. CNU improved its record to 43-1 and extended its winning streak to 20 games.
The two teams remained scoreless until the third inning, but that's when both offenses got going. After WPI took a 1-0 lead, Christopher Newport responded in their half of the frame. Back-to-back solo home runs by Caitlin Abernathy and Bailey Roberts put the Captains in front. The eighth seeded Engineers tied it on a home run of their own in the fourth, but once again, CNU had an answer, taking the lead back with two runs in the bottom of the inning. A Kaitlyn Hasty two-run single swelled the Captains' advantage to 6-2, with Meredith Brickner added two more runs on a single of her own to cap off the Christopher Newport scoring.
WPI made it interesting with four runs on two homers in the top of the sixth, but CNU held on to earn the win.
Roberts paced the Captain offense, going 3-for-4 with the home run. Kate Alger grabbed the win on the mound, throwing four innings, giving up two hits and two runs while striking out six and walking one. She improved to 14-0 on the season, while Jamie Martin came on to record her second save of 2022.
Christopher Newport is back in action on Friday, taking on Berry College at 4:30 PM.
