TYSONS, Va. -- Leaning on a strong pitching performance headlined by a 10-strikeout day from fifth-year senior starter Dylan Weber (3-1), the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team won 10-1 decision on the road at Marymount University Tuesday afternoon. The Captains improved to 11-5 overall this season after Weber and two relievers combined for a three-hitter, holding the host Saints to just one run, while the Captains offense exploded for 10 runs on 11 hits led by a four-hit day by Zach Dzarnowski. 

Dzarnowski rapped three singles and an RBI triple in the game for the first four-hit performance of his career. He drove in a game-high three runs and scored once while raising his season's average over forty points to .350 on the season. In addition, seven other CNU players logged one hit in the game including doubles by Josh Reinhold and Eric Wilson and a pinch-hit RBI single by rookie Cameron Slough. 

The CNU offense scored nine runs after the first four innings to pull away from Marymount, but the first time through the order the starting pitchers were locked in a duel. Weber struck out thre ein the first two innings before the Saints got a runner in scoring position with an infield single and a stolen base. That would set up an RBI double from Bobby Leitzel that proved to be the only mis-step of the day for CNU pitching. From there, Weber was locked in. 

After the double, the lefty starter retired eight of the next nine batters with four strikeouts. In the sixth, he allowed a lead-off walk but then struck out three straight to close out a dominant afternoon on the mound with his third double-digit strikeout performance of the season. He finished out the day retiring 11 of the last 13 batters he faced without giving up a hit while the offense put him in line for his third win of the season. 

Weber improved to 3-1 overall this season and is now 21-11 all-time as a starting pitcher for the Captains. He moved into a tie with Bryan Bierlein (2011-14) for the fourth most wins in program history while simultaneously passing CNU legend and Hall of Famer Kenny Moreland for the second most starts all-time, with 47. With the ten strikeouts against Marymount, Weber became just the third Captain in the 43-year history of the program to reach 300 strikeouts for his career. He joins Moreland (378) and Mike Cosby (370) with 307 career punchouts. 

On Tuesday, the CNU offense struck first with a run in the top of the third when Reinhold reached on a fielding error. Dzarnowski followed with a single through the left side to move the runner up into scoring position. WIth two outs, Doc Daniels and Kevin Mackmin would earn back-to-back walks to plate the first run of the game. 

CNU struck for the go-ahead runs in the top of the fifth and added two more in the sixth. Reinhold led off with a double that snuck inside the line just beyond the outstretched arms of a diving third baseman to extend his career-opening on-base streak to 58 straight games. The next man up, Dzarnowski, slammed a triple off the wall to deep center field to score Reinhold with what would hold up as the eventual game-winning run. Dzarnowski would trot home one batter later when Lincoln Lubsen grounded out up the middle for an RBI. 

In the sixth, freshman Gus Croll reached on a single into right that landed between three Marymount fielders; one pitch later, Eric Wilson ripped a first-pitch fastball into left field for a double to get two in scoring position again. After the Saints went to the pen, Scott Crosson was hit by a pitch and Reinhold walked in a run. Two batters later, Lubsen picked up his second RBI with a free pass and Christopher Newport took a 5-1 lead. 

The game broke open in the seventh when the Captains added four runs on three hits, including a two-run single by Dzarnowski to cap his exceptional performance. Mackmin led off with a hit-by-pitch and Jake Benedict followed with a single into center field. Ayden Stuffel was also drilled in a pinch hit appearance, loading the bases for another pinch hitter, Aaron Maxie. The freshman patiently waited four pitches for an RBI free pass and Crosson stepped in to plate another with an RBI single through the right side. Two batters later, Dzarnowski wrapped up his four-hit day with a two-run single up the middle. 

CNU turned to the bullpen in the bottom half of the inning, calling on veteran right-hander Danny Checkosky. He struck out two in a clean seventh, working around a one-out error, before giving way to Marcus Dux in the eighth. CNU's sophomore reliever was dominant, retiring all six batters he faced with a pair of strikeouts to close the door on Marymount. 

Christopher Newport is scheduled to face Piedmont University in a three-game set this weekend with the first game scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The Medina14 Foundation Game is slated for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday with the final game of the series at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning.