NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- With a game-tying double in the bottom of the eighth inning, senior shortstop etched his name in the CNU record book in a way that only four before him can claim, notching his 200th career hit. He would come around to score the game-winning run, as the Christopher Newport University baseball team upset No. 14 Salisbury University (18-7, 10-5), 4-3, before suffering a 4-3 setback in game two of the twin bill. The Captains (16-11, 8-3) split the CAC doubleheader powered primarily by the senior class. 

In game one, fourth-year starting pitcher Nick Santalucia (6-0) pieced together a gutsy eight-inning performance to stay unbeaten on the year. The lefty threw a lot of pitches early, as Salisbury threatened, but escaped several jams with limited damage to keep the Captains in the game. 

In the first inning, Santalucia left the bases loaded when he induced a ground ball to second base. Then, in the second, the Sea Gulls had a runner on third with two outs when Kyle Corwin snared a hard line shot by Kyle Hayman to end the inning. 

Salisbury would break through in the third, but again Santalucia came through in a tight situation, allowing just one run when he got a key inning-ending double play on a groundball to Corwin. The Sea Gulls added one more in the fourth, on an RBI single by Hayman. 

Steel led off the fourth inning with his league-leading ninth home run of the season, cutting the lead in half. Then, in the top of the fifth, the senior shortstop made a stunning diving play up the middle to end Santalucia's first 1-2-3 inning. The hard hit grounder off the bat of left fielder Jordan Gowe was headed for the outfield grass when Steel sprinted to his left and snagged the bouncing ball on a fully-extended diving stab up the middle. He then pushed himself up and fired a perfect strike to first base to close out the inning. 

Facing an ever-increasing pitch count, Santalucia kept coming out, inning-after-inning, and allowed just one more run in his final four innings of work. In all, the senior lefty tossed 143 pitches, giving up ten hits and four walks while striking out four. The damage was limited to just two earned and three total runs after eight innings of work. 

Then, in the bottom half of the eighth, the Captains offense picked up their senior pitcher with the go-ahead run. Junior Tommy Vitaletti led off the inning with a double to left field. Then, Steel slipped a hard shot by the third baseman for the game-tying RBI double. After the first out, Jacob Houston stepped in and delivered the go-ahead RBI single, dumping a shot into right field to give CNU the lead. 

Steel tied and passed Rob Robinson with 200 career hits, joining a select group of just five players in program history to reach that mark. He also ranks in the top ten among active leaders, now with 201 career knocks. Matt Turner (225), Trae Bailey (219), and Derek Reibel (214) are the other three. The double also tied Turner for third on the career doubles list, with 45 two-base hits in his career. 

In the ninth, CNU called on Bryan Bierlein to close out the win, and the senior promptly retired the side for his third save of the season. The Captains handed Salisbury starter, Dan Fein (5-1) his first loss of the season, coming in a complete game effort. 

CNU was led by Steel's 2-for-2 performance, adding a pair of walks, two RBI and two runs scored. 

Game two was a pitching duel between junior Brett Collacchi for Salisbury and senior Jacob Vaughan for the Captains. After both pitchers traded three-run frames in the second inning, the two matched eachother with four straight scoreless frames. 

In the top of the seventh, Salisbury took advantage of a lead-off walk, moving the runner up to second on a sacrifice bunt. Then, after a single and a stolen base, the Captains would be forced to load the bases to set up a potential double play. Johnny Schiotis would deliver for the Sea Gulls, though, with an RBI single into right field. Vaughan strapped in and limited the damage to just one, inducing a fly out to right field that wasn't deep enough to score another, and a ground ball up the middle to end the inning. 

The fourth run of the game for Salisbury was enough, though, as the Sea Gulls bullpen shut down the Captains in the final two innings. In fact, Collacchi and two relievers combined to put away 13 straight Captains to end the ball game. Kyle Hamby finished off the win, earning his fourth save of the season. 

Six different CNU players notched one hit in the game for CNU, including a triple by Houston and a double from A.J. Nicely. 

In the two game set, CNU had 13 hits, including eight for extra-bases. 

Christopher Newport won't have much time to think about the split with Salisbury, as the team travels to Frostburg State University for a makeup doubleheader with the Bobcats on Sunday. First pitch of the twin bill is set for Noon.