NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Fans that braved the frigid temperatures on Saturday at Captains Park were treated to a sunny afternoon of outstanding performances as the Christopher Newport baseball team picked up a pair of wins over New Paltz (0-2) on the first weekend action of the 2023 season. Freshman Brandon Cassedy twirled an historic gem in the opener, leading the Captains to a two-hit shutout, 5-0, and Ethan Weaver blasted his first career home run, a grand slam, to highlight an 11-run outburst in game two, 11-4. 

Christopher Newport improved to 4-0 on the season with the impressive outing on Saturday, and will wrap up the three-game series against the Hawks on Sunday at Noon. The pitching staff combined to strike out 22 batters in the two games while allowing just four runs on eight hits. Offensively, CNU blistered 17 hits and scored 16 runs while showcasing an excellent eye at the dish, working 16 walks in the doubleheader. 

While the team effort was impressive, the day was headlined by an outstanding collegiate debut for rookie right-hander Brandon Cassedy. Taking the hill for the first time in his Captains' career, the Manassas, Va. punched out nine New Paltz batters over six scoreless innings of work. He is the first player in the 42-year history of the program to strike out nine or more in his collegiate debut. Mike Cosby in 2002 and Mike Hines in 1983 each struck out nine batters in their first collegiate starts, but each had appeared in relief prior to their first career start; Cassedy set the program record for strikeouts in a debut pitching appearance with nine. 

Four of his nine K's caught New Paltz batters staring at a called third strike. In six shutout frames, the rookie allowed just a single hit and faced only two batters more than the minimum. 

With the newcomer dialed in on the mound, the Captains offense gave him all he would need in the third inning. Fellow freshman Sam Benedict singled to lead off the inning and moved up on a groundball to the right side. With two outs, Alec Reilly kept his red-hot bat scorching when he delivered an RBI single into left center field to take a 1-0 lead. Reilly was also the catalyst to three more runs later in the game when he hammered a high fly ball to center field with the bases loaded in the seventh inning. A dropped fly ball allowed all three runs to score as Christopher Newport took a 4-0 lead. One more insurance run would come across in the bottom of the eighth when the Captains showed off their patience at the plate. Josh Reinhold, Jay Cassady, and Jake Benedict all walked to load the bases. Sam Benedict beat out a would-be inning-ending double play to pick up an RBI groundout. 

In relief, Danny Checkosky was effective in two innings before giving way to David Gingras for the ninth. The bullpen arms struck out three and faced just 10 batters in the final three frames to lock down the two-hit shutout. 

Game two featured another strong pitching performance by a rookie arm as Jackson Baird picked up his first career win with five innings of one-hit ball. He struck out six and left the game with a 10-0 lead and gave way to junior Jack Anderson for a four-inning save.

It was the offense that stole the show away from Baird, however, exploding for 11 runs including a seven-run fifth inning that put the game away. Scott Crosson kicked things off with an RBI single in the first before Zach Dzarnowski smacked a two-run double to cap a three-run first inning. 

The score remained 3-0 after three when New Paltz looked to break through against Baird in the fourth. The first batter he faced sent an 0-2 pitch down the right-field line that looked destined for extra bases, but Alec Reilly sprinted over and laid out for a fully-extended diving play to keep the Hawks off the bases. Baird responded with a quick infield popup and his fifth strikeout of the game. 

Thanks to the all-out defensive web gem, Reilly has contributed in all three phases this week, leading the Captains in hitting with 11 total bases on a pair of home runs and a double. He's scored six times, driven in four and reached base via the walk six times. The senior is slugging 1.222 with an OBP of .667 and added a stolen base for good measure. 

In the fifth frame, the Captains blew it open by batting around in the inning. Reilly opened the inning with a walk and moved up to second on a single by Crosson. Dzarnowski was hit by a pitch to load the bases, setting up an RBI single by Kevin Mackmin one batter later. With the bags still juiced, Weaver wasted no time jumping all over the first pitch he saw, depositing a grand slam into the left field netting just inside the foul pole. His first career blast broke open the game and gave the Captains an 8-0 lead halfway through the contest. 

The hits kept coming as Christopher Newport re-loaded the bases on a single by Ayden Stuffel and a walk by Sam Benedict. Reinhold singled through the left side and then another run scored on a balk. Finally, pinch hitter Shane Kelleher capped the inning with an RBI groundout. 

Five CNU players finished with multi-hit performances in game two as Stuffel, Weaver, Dzarnowski, Crosson, and Reinhold each finished with two knocks. Dzarnowksi reached base in all four of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with a walk and a HBP with two RBI and a run scored. 

Christopher Newport will return to action on Sunday, wrapping up a three-game series with New Paltz at Noon. Live stats and a live video stream will be available at CNUsports.com.