NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- In a top-20 showdown at Captains Park, the 18th-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team captured a 6-4 win over 12th-ranked Lynchburg (8-2) on Tuesday afternoon with a gritty pitching performance from Jay Cassady (2-1) leading the way. At the plate, junior outfielder Scott Crosson kept his scalding stick working, blistering four more hits to extend an 11-game hitting streak. 

Cassady shook off a four-run first inning and rallied for a spectacular seven-inning start while Crosson registered his third game in the last four with three hits or more. 

With the win, Christopher Newport improves to 12-4 on the season while Lynchburg falls to 8-2. Angel Collazo (0-1) suffered the loss despite 4.1 innings of strong relief for the Hornets while Danny Checkosky picked up his first save for the Captains with two innings of relief. 

The game opened with Lynchburg taking a quick 4-0 lead in the top of the first. The Hornets jumped on Cassady with an infield single, single into center field, and a three-run home run coming on the lefty's first ten pitches of the game. After the homer, a first-pitch double continued the early rally and that runner scored two batters later on a single. 

After the rough start, the veteran southpaw settled in and put together one of the finest efforts of the season on the mound. He retired 18 of the next 19 batters with six strikeouts. Cassady worked ahead of batters from the second inning on, with the count advancing to a three-ball count only once through the sixth inning of work. In the seventh, he worked around a one-out walk and two-out single to strand two baserunners and close out an impressive performance on the hill. 

Cassady's final line in the victory, his second of the season, was 7.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO -- with only two hits coming after the second inning. 

Despite falling into a 4-0 hole, the Captains offense picked up their starting pitcher with four runs in the bottom of the second to even things up. Justin Bowers and Eric Wilson led off with back-to-back walks and then moved up 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt by Grant Hartman. After an RBI groundout by Ethan Weaver, Crosson keyed a two-out rally with a shot into right field for his second hit of the day. The run scoring single would plate Wilson and send Josh Reinhold to the plate; the rookie singled through the left side and the line kept moving. Next up was Zach Dzarnowski, who squared up a 2-0 pitch and pounded a two-out two-run double into the gap to chase the starting pitcher and tie the game, 4-4. 

From there, it was a new ball game with Cassady dealing and the offense continuing to click. The defense also played extremely well with highlight-reel plays from Brandon Cassedy at third base, showcasing a rifle to first base on a groundball over the bag hit by Lynchburg's leading hitter Avery Neaves, and Scott Crosson in right field, with a diving catch to end the fourth inning. The biggest defensive gem came in the seventh, though, with Cassady facing two baserunners off with the pitch on a payoff pitch to Logan Webster. The Hornets outfielder placed a groundball to the right side where Ethan Weaver ranged to his left, dove to the ground and smothered the groundball. He leapt to his feet and fired a strike to first base to end the threat. 

CNU took a 5-4 lead in the fourth when Grant Hartman took advantage of a mis-play in the outfield and started the inning standing on third base. Two batters later, Crosson delivered his second RBI single of the day to give the Captains their first lead of the game. In the sixth inning, it was Crosson again to extend the lead to 6-4 with an RBI single into left, plating Weaver for the final run. 

In the game, the veteran outfielder finished 4-for-4 with 3 RBI and a run scored. Crosson raised his season's average to a team-high .434 with 23 hits in 53 at-bats.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Wednesday as they hit the road to play Bridgewater College. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.