ASHLAND, Va. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team jumped out to an early lead on the road Wednesday afternoon, but a sixth-inning grand slam doomed the Captains against nationally-ranked Randolph-Macon (26-11) in an 8-4 final. The Captains fall to 24-9 overall this season despite leading the Yellow Jackets until the bottom of the sixth. 

Early in the contest, the CNU offense took advantage of a good eye at the plate as the first three runs scored after runners reached via the walk. It started with back-to-back free passes in the first inning when Josh Reinhold and Zach Dzarnowski each reached with one out to bring up Lincoln Lubsen. Lubsen, who played his first two seasons at R-MC, stepped up to the plate and wasted no time with a first-pitch double into the corner to plate the game's first run. 

Dzarnowski advanced to third on the extra-base hit and then trotted home as Doc Daniels lifted a deep fly ball to right field for a sacrifice fly. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first, the visitors tacked on another in the second when Sam Benedict reached on a two-out walk and brought up Scott Crosson. Like Lubsen before him, Crosson jumped on the first pitch he saw and started a sprint around the bases for an RBI triple. 

Macon cut the lead to 3-1 with a single run against CNU starter Brandon Cassedy in the bottom of the fourth inning. Cassedy was off to a great start, striking out four batters in the first two frames before a 1-2-3 third with another punchout. In the fourth, a solo home run made it 2-1, but Cassedy added two more strikeouts to escape without any further damage. 

CNU got the run back for their starting pitcher in the top of the fifth when Reinhold singled up the middle and Dzarnowski added the Captains' second RBI triple of the game to plate the sophomore shortstop. The three-base hit was just the second of Dzarnowski's career and gave the Captains a 4-1 advantage.

Before the triple, Reinhold reached base for the third time in as many plate appearances and added a game to his team-high seven-game hitting streak. By reaching base, Reinhold became just the fourth player in NCAA Division III history to get on base in 75 consecutive games and the first to do so in his first career 75 games. This season, Reinhold has logged a hit in all but three games and in those three, he has recorded at least one walk, reaching base in all 33 games after reaching base in all 42 games played last season. 

After the fifth, though, the Captains were unable to get on base for the last four innings except for a one-out hit-by pitch from Benedict in the ninth. With the offense stymied, the pitching staff could not afford any mistakes in the close game and the home team took advantage of one in the sixth to take the lead. After an error extended the inning, reliever Colin D'Arcy was lifted for sophomore Peter Hoenig, who nearly escaped a bases-loaded jam holding onto a 4-3 lead. Hoenig struck out the first batter he faced and got the second out at the plate with a groundout to Eric Wilson at first base. Unfortunately, though, Carter Schmitt hit a go-ahead grand slam with two outs for the home team, giving Randolph-Macon a 7-4 lead headed into the final three innings. 

Hoenig came back out and pitched a solid seventh inning with two more strikeouts. Jackson Gimbel then gave up a single run with one strikeout and one walk in the bottom of the eighth before handing the ball off to Marcus Dux for the final out. D'Arcy (0-1) suffered the loss after giving up four runs, one earned, while facing four batters in the bottom of the sixth. 

The sixth-inning rally forced Cassedy to settle for a no decision as the sophomore right-hander struck out eight batters and gave up two runs on six hits in 5.0 innings pitched. Cassedy tied Dylan Weber for the team lead in strikeouts with 96 in 62.1 innings this season. 

CNU will return to the diamond on Saturday, May 4 for the final regular season game of the 2024 season. The Captains will host 5th-ranked Salisbury University to determine the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference regular season champions and host of the C2C Tournament. First pitch against the Sea Gulls is set for 2:00 pm at Captains Park.