April 17, 2008
Christopher Newport Eliminates Shenandoah

BURLINGTON, N.C. – Top-seeded Christopher Newport made it a clean sweep of the higher seeded teams on day one of the USA South Conference baseball Tournament with a 6-4 victory over No. 5 Shenandoah at Burlington Athletic Stadium.

The win puts CNU (23-8) into a 1:00 game Friday afternoon against fourth-seeded Methodist. That game will be played at Elon University’s Latham Park.

The loss eliminates Shenandoah (17-20) from the tourney. The Hornets had opened the tournament with a 5-3 loss to Methodist on Thursday morning.

Trailing 2-0 after SU scored two runs in the third, Christopher Newport scored two runs in the fifth, two more in the sixth and its final two in the eighth.

The Hornets attempted to rally with a pair of runs in the ninth off of Captains starter Kenny Moreland (10-0), but Moreland got an important double play ball before striking out pinch hitter Preston Tarleton to end the contest.

Moreland tossed a complete game seven-hitter while striking out 11. He allowed four runs (three earned) and walked two.

SU drew first blood in the top of the third with two hits and a costly CNU error. With one out, Josh Simons singled up the middle and advanced to third on Drue Vernon’s double to left.

Simons did not attempt to score on the play, but both he and Vernon were granted home when Captains shortstop Trae Bailey’s relay throw to the plate sailed into the SU dugout for a two-base error.

Moreland prevented further damage by getting out of the inning with a strikeout and a walk.

The Captains tied the game the fifth on two walks and two hits sandwiched around a sacrifice.

Ryan McDougal led off with a walk, and after being sacrificed to second, came home on Parker Neal’s bloop single to left.

Matt McDaniel then walked before Mike Giarizzi plated Neal with another single to center.

Bailey, the league’s player of the year, redeemed himself in the sixth by leading off with a single to left and scoring all the way from first on Chris Despins’ line-drive double into the left-center gap.

One out later, Eric Cole gave CNU an insurance run by lofting a sacrifice fly to left to score Despins. Despins had moved 90 feet from home on a groundout to second.

Shenandoah starter Taylor DuFrene (5-2) pitched well in the losing effort. He gave up six runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out six.

Jesse Henry and Greg Van Sickler were each 2 for 3 for SU with Bailey getting three hits in four at-bats for the victors.

Box Score