FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- In a masterful early season pitching performance that saw sophomore right-hander Thomas Packert carry a no-hitter into the 7th inning, the Captains one-hit Keystone College in a 6-0 shutout on Saturday afternoon. The win was part of a doubleheader split as the Captains fell to DeSales, 7-3, in CNU's first game at the Armstrong/Diamond Methodist Invitational. 

Christopher Newport improves to 4-1 with the split, while DeSales earned the team's first win of the year. Keystone falls to 0-2 with losses to Methodist and the Captains. 

Packert and sophomore reliever Brian Owens combined for the one-hit shutout in the nightcap, allowing just three more batters than the minimum in the contest. Packert (1-0) earned his first win of the season with seven clean innings while striking out eight. Owens then came on in the eighth and struck out six straight batters to retire the Majors in order, six up and six down. 

Offensively, CNU was led by a 3-for-4 performance from catcher Ryan Grubbs, who scored twice. Junior Seth Woodard drove in a pair, while Conner Clark added one RBI and sophomore Andrew Suppa delivered a pinch-hit RBI double as well. 

The Captains scored two in the top of the third after Grubbs led off the inning with a single and advanced on a wild pitch. After Jordan Mason walked with one out, both runners advanced on another wild pitch, setting up the two-run single by Woodard. 

The two runs would be plenty for Packert and Owens, but the Captains tacked on three more in the seventh and one in the eighth. Joseph Cutchins led off with a single, followed by a Carter Biringer walk. After Grubbs singled with a picture-perfect bunt to load the bases, Clark drove in a run with an RBI single. After Keystone got a double play to nearly escape without further damage, an error extended the innings and allowed Grubbs to come around and score. 

Finally, Suppa's pinch hit double came with two outs in the top of the 8th as he drove in Cutchins, who had reached on a walk one batter earlier. 

In the first game of the day, Christopher Newport got another stellar starting pitching performance as Logan Harrelson delivered a gem for the Captains. He tossed 6.0 innings with just 2 hits allowed, 9 strikeouts, and only one run across. He exited the game with a 2-1 lead, but the bullpen allowed six runs over the final three frames to surrender Harrelson's victory to DeSales. 

The Captains took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Woodard walked with the bases loaded. The Bulldogs escaped with an inning-ending double play to halt the CNU threat. In the next half-inning, DeSales answered with the lone run scored on Harrelson when Charlie Barebo raced home on a wild pitch. 

CNU re-took the lead, 2-1, in the bottom of the 6th when catcher Brandon Walker singled home Brandon Ginch with two outs. Again the Bulldogs answered immediately, though, scoring two runs to take the lead in the top of the 7th. A four-run 9th inning put the game out of reach for the Captains, despite scratching out another run in the bottom of the final frame on a Woodard RBI double. 

The Captains' starting third baseman was 1-for-3 with 2 RBI and 2 walks in the first game and added a 1-for-5 performance with 2 RBI in the second. Conner Clark and Grubbs each had three hits on the day for CNU. 

Packert has already made three starts in the Captains first five games and has struck out 14 batters over 12.2 innings of work while allowing just three hits and two unearned runs. Owens has also appeared in three games out of the bullpen, striking out 11 batters in 4.0 innings for an absurd K/9 average of 24.75. 

CNU will return to the field on Fayetteville on Sunday to take on the host Monarchs of Methodist (4-1) at 2:00 pm. Live stats and video will be available, with links found at CNUsports.com.