DEMOREST, Ga. -- After hitting his first career home run in Friday night's opener, Christopher Newport sophomore Nicholas Baham stayed hot at the plate on day two, blasting his second dinger while going 4-for-5 at the plate with 4 RBI.  Despite his strong effort, the Captains fell (0-2) to sixth-ranked Birmingham-Southern (2-0) on Saturday afternoon in the Piedmont College Early Spring Classic, 15-5.  

Baham's onslaught on opposing pitching started right out of the gate, as he delivered an RBI triple in the bottom of the 1st inning. In his second at-bat, with two outs in the bottom of the third, the Captains' first baseman hammered a solo home run for his second round-tripper in his first seven at-bats of the season. Baham would fall just a double short of the cycle as he added a pair of singles in the last two innings, including a two-run drive in the bottom of the ninth.

He factored into all five of the runs scored by CNU on Saturday, but the Captains fell behind early and were unable to claw all the way back in. The Panthers got to CNU starter Logan Harrelson (0-1) with six earned in the first two innings. In the first, Sam Roberts gave the Panthers a lead with a two-run triple, and then came home to score on an RBI groundout by Tyler Hamel. Roberts added two more RBI in the second with a single to put B-SC up, 6-1. 

The Panthers scored at least one run in each of the first five innings, while CNU managed just two runs behind Baham's extra-base hits. Jordan Mason accounted for the first run when Baham tripled him home in the first, and Baham's solo shot made it 8-2 after three innings. 

Rookie reliever Tyler Jumper took over in the fourth inning, and allowed just two unearned runs over three innings of work. He struck out one for his first collegiate K, disposing of the first batter in the fifth inning. He also tossed a clean sixth inning with just one hit allowed. 

The Captains' offense showed some life late, putting six hits on the board in the final two innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Baham reached with a one-out single, and trotted home to score when Craig Johnson delivered an RBI single. Then, in the ninth, J.T. Bellotti and Mason singled to lead off the final frame, before rookie Andrew Suppa registered his first career hit to load the bases. That set up Baham for his final act, plating two with a single to finish 4-for-5 with 4 RBI. 

Junior starter Stephen Himic (1-0) picked up the win for the Panthers, after holding CNU to just three hits over six innings of work. Austin Slough, Jaret West, Logan Aylor and Caleb Myers all appeared in relief for CNU. 

The Captains will close out the three-game series on Sunday at Noon, as they take on Methodist University at Loudermilk Field.