NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- In non-conference action at Captains Park, the 15th-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team stranded a season-high 14 runners and suffered an 8-5 setback to Stevenson University (7-8) on Tuesday afternoon, 8-5. The Captains fall to 12-4 overall this season despite working a season-best ten walks at the plate. 

Earlier in the day Tuesday, the Captains earned a two-spot bump in the D3baseball.com National Rankings. CNU is now ranked No. 15 in the nation heading into a grueling five-game road trip over the next nine days. 

Stevenson took an early lead, scoring seven runs in the first three innings, and never looked back as the opportunistic offense usually present for the Captains this season never showed up on Tuesday. The Captains had five hits and earned 12 free passes against the Mustangs, but the visitors managed to get out of jam after jam. Three times in the game, CNU left the bases loaded. 

The Mustangs scored four runs in the second inning, kicked off by a pair of hard hit balls. First, Kevin Kopas laced a double to right field, followed by Jake Dimon with a hard hit shot up the middle off the glove of Keith Roberts' leaping defensive try, seeing the ball carom into center field. CNU should have been out of the inning after an error was followed by Jaxn Lane (1-1) got two outs on the infield, but the extended inning saw Ian Eberly deliver a two-run single to center. 

CNU answered with two runs in the bottom half, as rookie Austin Henry delivered a two-run single of his own up the middle. His base knock plated Brandon Ginch and Keith Roberts who led off the inning with a walk and hit-by-pitch.  

Stevenson answered right back with three in the top of the third, taking a 7-2 advantage. Tommy Vitaletti led off the bottom of the inning with a single to left, followed by a pair of stolen bases to reach third with nobody out. Keith Roberts lofted a sacrifice fly to center field to score CNU's third run, but Stevenson turned to rookie Jason Bidwell on the mound in relief. Bidwell would throw 4.2 shutout innings in relief to pick up his first collegiate win, striking out a pair while allowing just two hits. 

CNU countered with sophomore Craig Johnson in relief, who all but matched Bidwell for 4.1 innings as well. He allowed just one solo home run, and struck out four batters to help keep CNU within striking distance.  He turned the ball over to Michael Thomas and Corey Williams, who allowed just one hit in two clean innings at the end of the game. 

The CNU offense, though, never fired. In the eighth, CNU loaded the bases again and with one out, Vitaletti and Ginch delivered RBI at-bats. Vitaletti was hit by a pitch and Ginch smoked a single to center field to pull CNU back within three runs, 8-5. Again head coach Jason Tawney made a move to the bullpen, calling on closer Trevor Fitzsimmons, who escaped the bases loaded jam with a strikeout and infield popup to end the threat. 

Fitzsimmons closed out the game in the ninth with just one walk allowed to Carter Biringer, picking up his second save of the season. 

Ginch had a productive day at the plate, going 1-for-2 with three walks, while rookie Jordan Mason was 2-for-3 with a pair of hit-by-pitches, plus one walk. Mason reached in five of his six plate appearances. 

The Captains will now hit the road for five straight, starting with 17th-ranked Mary Washington on Wednesday, March 16, at 3:00 pm.