MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Kicking off a three-game swing at the Ripken Experience Complex in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the Christopher Newport baseball team exploded for 18 runs in a dominant victory over Easten Nazarene College (4-2) on Monday afternoon. The Captains improved to 6-4 with an 18-5 win that saw the team belt eight extra-base hits including a pair of three-run home runs. 

One of the two round-trippers came off the bat of senior Evan Baer in the top of the first inning when he blistered a line drive laser over the left field wall with two on and two out in his first at-bat. His three-run bomb gave the Captains a quick 4-0 lead at the start of the game and allowed rookie starter Aidan Henning some breathing room in his first career start. 

Henning was terrific for his third straight outing to start his career. After allowing just one unearned run out of the pen in his first six innings of work as a college pitcher, Henning turned in a excellent outing in his first start on Monday afternoon. He faced just three batters in four of his first five innings and allowed only two hits. In the sixth, the rookie southpaw ran into a little trouble as he started to take on the Lions lineup for the third time. Leadoff man Dylan Louviaux doubled and moved up to third on a single by Bobby Fulkerson. From there, three errors plagued the Captains in the inning as five runs came around to score. 

By then, an eight-run fifth inning for the Captains offense had given Henning plenty of wiggle room with a 14-0 lead. Henning gave way to reliever Carter Strain to finish the sixth and left the game in line for his first career win with a line of 5.2 innings pitched, 5 hits, 5 runs, 2 earned, and 5 strikeouts on the day. 

The eight-run burst turned the game into a runaway from the Captains as they turned the lineup over against the Eastern Nazarene pitching staff. Michael Martorano kicked things off with a double into the left field corner and he would race around to score two batters later on an RBI single by Andrew Suppa. Rookie Samuel Essex then singled up the middle on a ball that caremed off the mound to set up another run-scoring extra-base hit for the Captains. This time it was freshman Ethan Weaver who smacked a double past the diving third baseman and plated two more runs for the Captains. 

The line kept moving with Conner Clark singling home Weaver and then, after two stolen bases, trotting home on an RBI single by Jonathan Fisher. After the Lions finally recorded the second out and looked poised to get out of the inning, Baer made them pay again on a 1-2 pitch in his second at-bat of the inning. The senior nearly left the yard again with a double launched to the deepest part of the park that saw him clear the bases for his second three-RBI poke of the afternoon. 

With a 14-0 lead, head coach John Harvell evacuated his bench and showcased the depth of his rookie class when eight of the nine spots in the lineup were held by freshmen. Including the four starters, 12 newcomers saw action in the game against Eastern Nazarene. The reserves also contributed offensively as Alec Reilly delivered a double and scored in the sixth before Brayden Hodges and Josh Stevens reached in front of Cameron Wallace in the seventh. Wallace then stepped in and rattled the scoreboard with a mammoth home run to deep center field. The long ball was his second homer of the season and the freshman now has three hits in five at-bats with all three going for extra bases. 

Wallace's home run gave the Captains an 18-5 lead which is where the scoring would finish. Henning earned the win, the first of his career, while Strain and reliever Kyle Darmstead tossed clean innings of relief to secure the victory. Strain struck out a pair without giving up a hit in 1.1 innings of work while Darmstead also struck out two in 2.0 shutout innings of relief. 

Evan Baer led the offense on Monday with a 3-for-4 performance and 6 RBI. Martorano (2-4) and Fisher (2-3) also had multi-hit efforts in the win. Clark reached base three times and was a terror on the basepaths, stealing four bases in the game. He scored three times and moved into the top-10 all-time in career runs scored at Christopher Newport while still playing early in his junior campaign. 

The Captains will return to the Myrtle Beach complex on Tuesday to take on New England College at 4:00 pm. Live stats and a live video webcast will be available for all the action -- links can be found at CNUsports.com.