NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Bridgewater College scored 18 runs on 17 hits in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader to take an 18-6 victory and salvage a split with the No. 8 ranked Christopher Newport Captains. CNU won the opener, 12-4.
The win is the second this week for the Eagles over a nationally-ranked team. Bridgewater defeated No. 12 Shenandoah, 11-2, earlier in the week.
The Eagles took an early 5-1 lead in the second game, but the Captains rallied to tie the score at 5-5 at the end of three innings.
Bridgewater scored three runs in the first on four hits. Nick Fulk and Bryan Sanderson led off the game with singles and Jonathan Mason followed with a double to score Fulk, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Andrew Hacker singled through the left side to score Sanderson and Mason scored when the ball was misplayed in the outfield, making the score 3-0.
The Captains scored one in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by Christopher McDougal, but the Eagles came right back with two more runs in the second.
Hunter Hensley reached on an error to start the inning, stole second and moved to third on a passed ball. After Fulk walked, Hensley scored on a sacrifice fly by Sanderson, making the score 4-1. Fulk then scored all the way from first base on a double by Mason, putting the Eagles on top 5-1.
The Captains rallied to knot the score in the third. McDougal drove in a run with a single and Justin Weaver plated two more with a double to right. Weaver then scored on a wild pitch, tying the score at 5-5.
The Eagles regained the lead with a run in the fourth. Fulk singled with one out and moved to second on a single by Sanderson. Mason plated Fulk with a single to left, putting the Eagles back on top 6-5.
The Eagles added two more runs in the fifth and then broke the game open with six runs in the sixth.
Zach Hynes led off the fifth with a single and raced to third on a double by Matt Maher. With two outs, Cavin Clyde delivered a two-run single to left, making the score 8-5.
The Eagles loaded the bases in the sixth on two hit batsmen and a single by Mason. Derrik Walling plated one run with a single and Mason scored on a wild pitch, making the score 10-5. Maher was hit by a pitch to reload the bases and Hensley followed with a two-run single through the left side, giving BC a 12-5 lead. Hensley and Maher pulled off a double steal before Clyde was hit by a pitch to once again load the bases. Fulk plated one run with a single and Sanderson drove in another run with a sacrifice fly for a 14-5 lead.
After the Captains scored one run in the sixth, the Eagles closed out the scoring with an unearned run in the seventh and two more runs in the eighth. Fulk and Sanderson walked to start the eighth inning and both moved up on a wild pitch. Mason reached on an infield error with Fulk scoring on the play, making the score 16-6. Hacker and Hynes each singled to drive home a run, making the score 18-6.
Mason led the Eagles offense with a 4-for-7 effort with three runs scored and four RBIs in Game 2. Fulk was 3-for-4 with four runs scored and one RBI and Sanderson was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Hacker and Hynes each finished with two hits while Hensley and Clyde each drove in two runs.
Freshman lefty Ryan Leake picked up his first collegiate victory with five solid innings out of the pen. Leake allowed just one run on three hits. He struck out five and walked three.
CNU jumped out to an 11-1 lead after five innings in the opener and coasted to the 12-4 win.
The Captains scored twice in the second, but Bridgewater answered with a run in the third to make the score 2-1. With one out Darren Yoder walked and Fulk was hit by a pitch. Yoder raced around to score on a single by Sanderson for the Eagles first run.
CNU regained the lead with two runs in the bottom of third and then added three more in the fourth. Jacob Houston drove in two runs with a double in the third and Billy Steele plated two runs in the fourth with a double.
Four more runs in the fifth inning gave the Captains an 11-1 lead. Tommy Kane delivered the big hit in the fifth with a two-run double to left.
The Eagles finally got on the board again in the eighth. Ryan Fitzgerald led off with a double and moved to third on a single by Spencer Steele. Fitzgerald scored on a Sanderson groundout for the Eagles second run of the game.
Bridgewater added its final two runs in the ninth. Consecutive singles by Brendan Howell, Fitzgerald and Steele accounted for one run. Steele scored on a double by Sanderson, making the final tally 12-4.
Bridgewater is now 16-6 on the season while CNU goes to 23-8-1.