ST. MARY'S CITY. Md. -- The Christopher Newport and St. Mary's College of Maryland baseball teams split a pair of blowout victories today, as CNU captured a 13-6 win in game one, followed by a 21-8 win for the Seahawks. The Capital Athletic Conference doubleheader featured 48 runs on 58 hits as the Captains overall record runs to 11-12, with a 5-10 mark in league play, while St. Mary's is now 8-14 overall, 5-8 against the league. 

The game one victory was powered by a strong offensive performance by the Captains lineup, top to bottom. That included number nine hitter, Taylor Loudon, breaking into the NCAA record book as part of a 7-run fifth inning that lifted CNU over the Seahawks. The Captains led, 2-0, heading into the top of the fifth when Loudon led the inning off with a triple. After the lineup turned over, the Captains getting to St. Mary's starter Patrick Watson, Loudon was due up again with two outs and two on. The sophomore third baseman blistered another shot to left center field. After the ball split the outfielders, Loudon turned on his jets, burning another 270 feet of basepath for his second triple of the inning. 

The two three-baggers ties the NCAA record for triples in an inning, as he becomes just the seventh player in Division III history to accomplish the feat. He set a CNU record for triples in an inning and game, and also becomes just the 15th player listed in the NCAA Record Book across all three divisions to post two triples in the same inning. He is the first to do it since the 2010 season, when Wooster's Matt Groezinger did it against Hiram on April 24. Celebrating his 20th birthday on Saturday, Loudon doubled his season extra-base hit total with the inning and more importantly, lifted CNU to a seven-run inning that blew the game open.

After Loudon opened the frame with a triple, Keith Roberts walked and A.J. Nicely loaded the bases with a chopper on the infield. Rookie outfielder Brandon Ginch stepped in and delivered a two-run single, doubling the CNU lead to 4-0. Three batters later, designated hitter Bryant Lowry smacked an RBI single to the opposite field, followed immediately by a two-run single to left center from rookie Tyler Wood. A walk by Alexander Crittenden would then set up Loudon's historic second triple, driving in both Wood and Crittenden as CNU took a 9-0 lead. 

On the hill, junior Blake Ream cruised through four scoreless innings before the Captains staked him to the big lead. He gave up one in the bottom of the fifth when Jared Eaker came up with a big triple of his own, driving in one run. He exited the game after 5.0 innings of work, giving up just three hits as he improved to 2-2 on the season. Kyle Goddard tossed a perfect sixth, followed by Michael Thomas, Caleb Myers and Justin Garber in relief of Ream. 

Loudon may have caught the attention with his big fifth inning, he was just one of four CNU players with four hits in the first game. Ginch was 3-for-5 with a career-high five RBI; Roberts was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI; Wood was 3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored; and Loudon finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. 

As a team, CNU smacked 16 hits for 13 runs in the first game, snapping a four-game losing streak. Watson suffered the loss for St. Mary's, despite allowing just two earned runs. He gave up nine total runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings pitched, falling to 1-2 on the year. 

In game two, the home team reversed the script on the Captains, jumping out to a huge lead after the first three innings. The Seahawks scored six in the bottom of the first, two in the second and four more in the third. The outburst continued with three in the fourth and five more in the sixth, taking a 20-4 lead with just three innings remaining. The CNU pitching staff worked by committee to get through the rough outing, as Jaxn Lane started and suffered the loss, giving up four runs in one-third of an inning. Senior Brett Mays gave up four runs in 1.2 innings, while Goddard allowed seven in 2.2 innings in his second appearance of the day. Rounding out the pitching effort was a five-run appearance for Michael Thomas, in 1.1 innings, and a strong finish by Scott Halsey, allowing just one run in 2.0 innings, while striking out three. 

Offensively, CNU scattered 14 hits, including four extra-base knocks. Roberts and Wood each tacked on two more hits to finish with a team-high five in the twin bill, while Nicely delivered three runs in a 2-for-4 performance. Bryant Lowry was 2-for-3 in game two, rounding out the multi-hit performances for the Captains. 

Junior left-hander Michael O'Neill got his first win of the season for St. Mary's, tossing six innings with two strikeouts, giving up four earned runs. Eaker was the offensive star for the home team, posting a 4-for-5 performance at the plate with 5 RBI and 4 runs scored. 

Christopher Newport will return to action on Sunday, traveling to face the Newport News Apprentice School at 2:00 pm.