The victory over Millsaps marked the 500th career win for head coach John Harvell. CNU athletics photo

DEMOREST, Ga. -- For the fourth straight game to open the 2019 season, the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team flexed it's offensive muscle paired with a strong pitching performance as the Captains (4-0) downed Millsaps College by a final score of 16-2 on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Josh Husby (2-0) struck out six while shutting out the Majors over seven innings while allowing just three hits.

The victory over Millsaps marked the 500th career win for head coach John Harvell, who becomes just the fourth CNU helmsman to reach the historic plateau. He joins long-time men's basketball coach and athletic director C.J. Woollum, who coached Harvell on the basketball court, as well as recent additions to the 500-win club in softball coach Keith Parr and volleyball coach Lindsay Birch.

Harvell has led the Captains since 2001 and has compiled an overall winning record of 500-250-3 for a winning percentage of 66.6%. Entering the year, CNU's head coach in his 19th season ranked 46th all-time in Division III winning percentage and in the same slot among active Division III coaches in total wins. The wins over Oglethorpe and Millsaps this weekend represented the 80th and 81st different teams that CNU has defeated under the leadership of John Harvell.

In the milestone victory, the Captains left little doubt as they scored 16 straight runs before Millsaps put two on the board in the eighth inning. CNU smacked six doubles and stole three more bases while the pitching staff held the Majors to just two unearned runs on six hits in the game.

Austin Henry scored the game's first run in the top of the third after walking to lead off the inning and stealing second base two batters later. After Conner Clark grounded toward short, Henry scored on an error to give the Captains a lead. CNU scored another single run in the fourth inning when Nicholas Baham singled to lead off the inning and sophomore Eric O'Brien smacked the first of six Captains two-baggers to plate Baham.

A three-run fifth inning chased Millsaps' starting pitcher as CNU loaded the bases with nobody out in the inning. Nick DiNapoli picked up an RBI with a fielder's choice and then Trey Hicks laced a double inside the left field line to score two more runs for CNU. Conner Clark and Seth Woodard went back-to-back with a pair of two-run doubles in the top of the 7th to extend the lead to 9-0 as CNU broke the game open.

On the other side of the diamond, Husby controlled the Majors offense from the outset, and found a groove in the middle innings. He retired the side in order in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings as his offense staked him to a 9-0 lead. He finished out his second start of the year with seven shutout innings, six strikeouts and just four hits and one walk. He faced just 25 batters in seven frames before giving way to Tyler Jumper and Carter Strain to close out the win.

With a 9-0 lead headed into the final two innings, the Captains put up a seven spot in the top of the 8th as the nationally-ranked offense batted around. Baham and DiNapoli led off with walks before senior Joseph Cutchins smacked an RBI double down the line. O'Brien then followed with an RBI single to bring up pinch hitter J.T. Bellotti. Bellotti walked to load the bases and Jordan Mason delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 12-0. Two batter slater, Andrew Suppa, who already has two pitching appearances this season, stepped in for his first at-bat of the year and delivered a two-run single into left. Pinch hitter Evan Baer followed him up with a two-run double to cap the inning with seven runs on four hits.

Millsaps avoided the shutout by scoring twice in the bottom of the eighth against Jumper. The Majors had back-to-back hits before a pair of errors allowed both to come around to score. In the bottom of the ninth, Carter Strain allowed the first runner to reach but then induced a double play before striking out the final batter of the game for the win.

CNU is 4-0 to start the season and will return to action on Sunday, February 17 to take on Emory University at Noon. The matchup against the Eagles is the final game of the three-game road trip to Atlanta before the Captains return home to play their next seven games at home.