NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The defensive woes continued for Christopher Newport baseball on Tuesday, as the Captains committed five more errors in a 6-1 setback to Virginia Wesleyan College (5-6). CNU pitching allowed only three earned runs to the Marlins, but the offense couldn't get anything going against the cross-water rivals as CNU fell back to .500 with a 9-9 overall record. 

Virginia Wesleyan took advantage of some early control problems from CNU starter Ryan Powell (0-2), scoring a run in the first without registering a hit. In the second, the Marlins added a pair of unearned runs to take an early 3-0 lead. 

Powell settled in from there and put in a nice run of innings on the mound. He retired eight straight at one point and allowed just one hit and two baserunners until the seventh inning. After a lead-off triple in the 7th, though, the Captains went to the bullpen as senior reliever Caleb Myers entered the game. Myers got a strike out before Randy Neisz doubled home a run with the infield drawn in. Myers avoided further damage when catcher John Anderson caught a runner stealing followed by a strikeout of C.J. Lindsay. 

CNU got on the board in the bottom of the 4th, scratching across one run on three hits in the inning. Nicholas Baham led things off with a hard-hit single into center field. Two batters later, senior A.J. Nicely singled with a shot through the right side of the infield. With two on and two out, sophomore Austin Henry managed an RBI infield single on a pop-up that just continued tailing away from the second baseman toward the line and allowed Craig Johnson, the runner on second, to sprint home and score.

In the top of the 8th, with a 4-1 lead, Virginia Wesleyan all but sealed the win with two more runs, including another unearned tally. Two errors extended the inning and allowed Justin Erby to deliver a two-run double to left center. 

The CNU offense couldn't muster anything more against the Virginia Wesleyan pitching staff, which saw four relievers combine for five innings pitched with three hits allowed and three strikeouts. Nick Bay (1-1) earned the win for VWC. 

Powell was saddled with the loss despite coming through with a quality start; his final line was 6.0 IP, 3H, 4 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, and 0 K. Myers combined with Logan Aylor and Jaret West out of the pen for the final three innings. West struck out a pair in the ninth in a strong performance from the rookie lefty. 

Offensively, CNU got a 2-for-4 effort from Austin Henry, with one RBI. Anderson reached twice via walks, while Keith Roberts and Nicholas Baham each added one hit and one walk. 

The Captains will open conference play on Wednesday, March 8, taking on Southern Virginia University at 2:00 pm.