NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Senior Nick Santalucia (7-0) struck out a career-high 11 batters en route to his seventh victory of the season as he outdueled Frostburg State University starter Kenny Georgius (5-1) for a 2-1 win in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament opening round. The Captains improved to 21-13 behind one of the senior lefty's finest career performances, powering CNU into a second round matchup against second-seeded Salisbury University on Friday, April 18. 

Georgius tossed a complete game for the Bobcats, but suffered his first loss of the season as the Bobcats drop to 23-9 this year.

For the second time this season, Santalucia threw more than 140 pitches in a start as went eight innings with ten hits and zero walks. Both pitchers weaved in and out of trouble all game in the pitcher's duel that featured just one 1-2-3 inning for either pitcher. CNU got on the board first, loading the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the first inning. Sophomore third baseman Kyle Corwin delivered the first run of the game when he laced a line drive into left field, scoring senior Billy Steel to take a 1-0 lead. Georgius escaped the jam without further damage when second baseman J.T. Tipton snared a hard liner off the bat of Justin Weaver.

Santalucia looked terrific early, striking out a pair of batters in each the first, second and third innings. He rounded out the solid start by striking out back-to-back batters to end the third, including a three-pitch K on catcher Dylan Shupe. CNU also stranded five runners in the first three innings, though, as Georgius used his defense to get threw the powerful CNU lineup. 

In the top of the fourth, a lead-off triple by shortstop Kam Stewart would spark the Frostburg offense. Santalucia struck out the next batter, but designated hitter Rob Jennings served a soft liner into left field to score the game-tying run. After another single, FSU continued to threaten with runners at the corners and just one out. The Captains' starter induced a ground ball right back to the mound and a fly-out to right field to end the inning, however, and keep the Bobcats from taking the lead. 

Both pitchers continued to work their way through the opposing lineup through the middle innings, with only one runner advancing to third base over the next four innings, heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. Senior Curtis Pittman led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a single up the middle, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Travis Younger. After Corwin reached on a throwing error by Stewart, pulling the first baseman off the bag, Pittman represented the go-ahead run, 90 feet away from home with one out. The Bobcats intentionally walked Weaver to load the bases and set up a double-play opportunity, but rookie A.J. Nicely flared a shot into short right field to deliver the go-ahead tally. 

Georgius induced an inning-ending double play to limit the damage, but the Captains took a 2-1 lead after eight innings and would need just three outs to pull out the tournament win. Head coach John Harvell called on senior Bryan Bierlein to close out the win. With his first pitch, he got the first out, retiring Zach Weiss on a fly ball to center field. Then, league-leading hitter Ricky Castro pinch hit and delivered a two-strike single into left field. Kevin Kean followed with two-strike hit, singling into center field. Bierlein locked up his fourth save of the year, though, when he got Shupe to roll into a game-ending double-play started by Corwin. 

Bierlein is now 4-for-4 in save opportunities this season, leading the squad in saves while also leading CNU in complete games. Santalucia picked up his 15th career victory, improving to 15-0 all-time and 7-0 in his senior season. The 11 strikeouts is a season-high for all CNU pitchers, giving the senior lefty 52 K's in 57 innings of work this year. 

Offensively, CNU was led by Tommy Vitaletti (3-4) and Billy Steel (2-4), while Corwin and Nicely delivered the only RBI of the game. 

All three of the top seeds in the CAC Tournament pulled out first round victories, and CNU will now take on second-seeded Salisbury University (24-7) on Friday, April 18 at 4:00 pm on the campus of top-seeded York College (Pa.). Live stats and a live video webcast will be available at the Tournament Website or at CNUsports.com.