NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After sophomore Thomas Packert whirled a game one gem that was certain to be the highlight of nationally-ranked CNU Baseball's day, junior pinch-hitter John Anderson made sure to add the offense to the highlight reel with a walk-off RBI single in game two as the Captains swept Marymount University in Capital Athletic Conference action Sunday afternoon, 7-2 and 13-12. Anderson's dramatic winner pushed CNU's win streak to 17 games as the Captains improved to 25-4 overall and 9-0 in league play. 

The win streak is the longest win streak in Division III this season and the second longest active streak in the nation across all three NCAA divisions. Only Illinois-Springfield, a Division II program, has more consecutive victories with 19. With the losses, Marymount slips to 12-13, 4-5 this season. 

In game one, sophomore Thomas Packert put together one of his finest outings of the season to improve to 5-0 on the year. He kept the Saints off the board for seven innings, allowing just three hits while striking out ten batters. He retired the final nine batters he faced, including five straight strikeouts to close out his strong performance.
 
The Captains quickly got on the board for the sophomore right-hander, scoring twice in the bottom of the first. Conner Clark and Seth Woodard etched back-to-back singles and scored the games' first runs when Brandon Ginch delivered a two-run single. Junior catcher Ryan Grubbs scored the third and fourth runs of the game after a pair of extra-base hits. He had a one-out double and raced home on an RBI single from Jordan Mason in the fourth, and then tripled in the bottom of the sixth before trotting home on an Austin Henry double to the gap.
 
Already with a 4-0 lead, the Captains put the game away with three more in the bottom of the 7th. Woodard reached on a hit-by-pitch and Ginch promptly slammed the first pitch he saw into the left center field gap. With two on in scoring position, Craig Johnson delivered a two-run triple inches from going over the top of the wall in deep center field. Then, sophomore shortstop Nick DiNapoli singled up the middle to round out the offense for CNU.
 
Marymount scored twice in the eighth, but relievers Brian Owens and Joe Burris locked down the win to give CNU it's 16th straight victory. Grubbs was 3-for-3 with a walk and three extra-base hits for the Captains, while scoring twice. Woodard also reached base four times with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate, a walk and an HBP. Ginch and Johnson each led the way with a pair of RBI.
 
In game two, the team's were locked in a 3-2 battle heading into the fifth inning when things changed dramatically. The teams traded big innings in the middle of the game when CNU scored seven in the bottom of the fifth, but Marymount answered with eight in the top of the sixth.
 
A seven-run fifth inning turned a one-run deficit into a six-run lead when the Captains got started with a lead-off home run from Woodard. The seventh long ball of the season for Woodard knotted the game back at 3-3 and kick-started a big inning for CNU. After the Saints got one out, the Captains put together four straight singles, including an RBI knock from DiNapoli to put the home team ahead.
 
With the bases loaded, second baseman Austin Henry appeared to break the game open when he smashed a bases-clearing triple off the wall in left center field. Immediately after, Jordan Mason laced a single into center field to score Henry, and two batters later, Woodard stepped in and delivered his second extra-base hit of the inning with an RBI double into the corner. The 9-3 advantage wouldn't last, though, as Marymount scored eight in the next half-inning to re-take the lead.

Facing a two-run deficit into the final three innings, the Captains offense didn't shy away and would eventually come up with their fifth win while trailing after six innings this season. The clutch offense scored once in the seventh, but a solo homer from Nick Smutko for Marymount increased the lead back to two heading into the bottom of the eighth. 

CNU again cut the lead in half in the second to last frame, when Ginch led off with a double to the wall in right center. After a pair of outs were recorded, DiNapoli continued to come up in key situations with a triple over the outfielder's head in right center. Marymount called on their closer, Ryan Schuefele, to close out the game and he stranded DiNapoli on third with an inning-ending strikeout. 

In the 9th, CNU senior Joe Burris retired all three batters he faced to get the Captains offense back to the plate with one more chance to win. After a strikeout started the inning, Jordan Mason reached on an error by the first baseman. Mason raced to third on a single into right field to put the game-winning run on base with the Captains' hottest bat, Seth Woodard, at the plate. 

Woodard took a first pitch down low for a ball and fouled off his next pitch. On the next delivery, he tied the game at 12 with an RBI groundout to the shortstop on the grass. After Joseph Cutchins had pinch run for Ginch in the 8th, his spot in the order came up in the pivotal situation.

Head coach John Harvell called on Anderson to pinch hit and the junior stepped in to deliver the game-winning blow. Anderson worked himself into a hitter's count at 2-1, before shooting a hard shot by the diving first baseman to plate Clark for the winning run. 

Burris picked up the win, his first of the season, and Schuefele suffered his first loss in the blown save. 

CNU got seven multi-hit performances in game two, including three-hit performances from Ginch and Mason. Woodard and Henry each drove in three, while DiNapoli added a two-RBI effort. 

The Captains will return to action on Tuesday, hosting Mary Washington at 3:00 pm.