Harvell Wins 300th as CNU gets to 30 wins

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ASHLAND, Va. -- The second-ranked Christopher Newport University Captains (30-4) would not make John Harvell wait very long for his 300th career victory, bouncing back to win in the second try for the head coach, dropping Randolph-Macon College in a 15-6 final. Harvell, already the Captains all-time winningest coach, ranks among the nation's top 30 in win percentage among active coaches (.662), with a 300-153-2 all-time mark.

The Captains won a wild one, with 19 different players factoring into the milestone win for Harvell. Second baseman Matt Shoemaker led the way, going 4-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored, while rookie Jacob Vaughn earned the win, pitching four scoreless innings of relief.

The bats opened up early in this one, as the Captains and Yellow Jackets had scored six runs apiece after three innings. CNU scored four in the first, as catcher Ben Lenda doubled in a pair followed by RBI singles from Shoemaker and DH Chris McDougal. R-MC also tacked on three runs in the first, scoring on a sacrifice fly and adding two more on an error.

The Captains then added two more in the second, taking a 6-3 lead on another RBI hit from Shoemaker. The junior drove in Shannon Mark and Drue Vernon with a single to center field. The Yellow Jackets tied it up in the third inning with three more with a pair of RBI doubles.

The hits kept coming for CNU, especially with two outs. In the fourth, the Captains scored five runs, all with two outs on the board. Connor Madden's double down the left field line highlighted the inning while Steven Lindemuth also had an RBI single in the frame.

Vaughn came on in the fourth and locked up the R-MC offense. The Yellow Jackets would not score in the final six innings, as Vaughn combined with senior Kyle Harsanyi, allowing just four hits and striking out five. Harsanyi was terrific, striking out four in two innings of work to close out the game.

The Captains added three runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh to finish out the scoring for CNU, as they ran away with a 15-6 victory. Eight different CNU players scored in the game and seven players had at least one RBI. Shoemaker led the way, blasting his fifth home run of the season in a 4-for-5 game. Madden finished the day with three hits and three RBI while Billy Steel went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI.

Randolph-Macon was led by Brian Jordan with three hits and a run scored. Jordan Walton and Greg Mitro also had multi-hit days.

CNU returns home for a game against the Apprentice School on Friday, April 8 at 3:00 pm.