NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Opening the 2025 baseball season in thrilling fashion, the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning in game one and scored seven runs over the final two innings in game two to earn a doubleheader sweep against Messiah University on Friday afternoon. The Captains (2-0) captured an 8-2 win in the opener before coming from behind in game two for a 9-5 victory. 

CNU recorded 22 hits in the twin bill including multi-hit games for Jake Benedict and his twin brother Sam Benedict in both contests. Aaron Maxie also added a three-hit game in the opener as the Captains pulled away from the Falcons for a season-opening victory. 

Taking the mound in game one was junior transfer Cooper Newell (1-0) and the newcomer made an immediate impact to the Captains' rotation. Beset with the loss of nearly 300 innings pitched by one of the nation's top pitching staffs, Christopher Newport turned to Newell in the first game of the season. In his first turn, Newell was dominant against Messiah, earning the win with five no-hit innings pitched. 

Newell faced the minimum through four before an error started the fifth inning to allow a base runner. After a flyball out, Messiah got another runner on with a walk and then had runners at the corners with a stolen base. With the infield pulled in, Sam Benedict made the first of several pivotal plays in the field when he stabbed a hard-hit ground ball to his left and fired home to catch a would-be run. Newell then capped off his outing with a flyout to center, stranding three baserunners in the inning. 

The Captains' starter struck out four batters in leading the Captains through the first five no-hit innings. Marcus Dux then took over and blitzed through the sixth, 1-2-3, with a pair of strikeouts to carry the no-hitter into the seventh. The Captains built a 6-0 lead before Messiah finally rapped their first base hit when Nick Moyer drove in a run with a double to center field against Dux in the top of the seventh. 

The game was out of reach, though, as CNU tacked on two more runs in the eighth inning to lead, 8-1, headed into the final inning. The offense scored one in the third, four in the fourth, one in the sixth, and two in the eighth to distance themselves from Messiah. 

The first run came across when Jake Benedict singled through the left side and advanced to second on a hit-by-pitch by Doc Daniels. Junior shortstop Josh Reinhold delivered an RBI single to give the Captains a 1-0 lead they would never give up. In the fourth, Maxie and Ayden Stuffel logged back-to-back two-out infield hits to frustrate the Falcons. Sam Benedict then singled into left field for an RBI base hit and Jake Benedict walked to load the bases. After Stuffel sprinted home on a wild pitch, the two Benedict's trotted in on a drive to right by Daniels for a two-RBI base hit. Two innings later, Daniels capped a three-RBI performance with a sacrifice fly to plate Stuffel and give the Captains a 6-0 lead. 

Rounding out the offensive performance in game one, Justin Liakos tripled to drive in a run with one-out in the bottom of the eighth. He then touched home plate on a line drive single by Will Pellegrino into center field. 

Rookie Charlie Gunn closed out the win on the mound with one strikeout giving the trio of Newell, Dux, and he eight total strikeouts in the win. 

Moving into game two, the Captains would have to claw back in the late innings to earn the win after falling behind, 5-0, through four and a half innings. CNU scored twice in the bottom of the fourth to make it 5-2, but the offense stalled until a pivotal seventh inning that flipped the momentum in favor of the home team. 

First, in the top of the seventh, the CNU defense escaped a huge jam to keep the game within striking distance. With runners at second and third and nobody out, the Captains pulled the defense in and again it was Sam Benedict at third base making a key play to keep the Falcons off the board. Handling a hotly hit ground ball, Benedict froze the runner at third before firing across the diamond for the first out. Then, Cameron Slough cut down a would-be base stealer when he fired to third and received the throw back from Benedict to record the second out. Finally, Ryan Morrison closed out the inning unscathed when he just got a piece of a groundball up the middle that redirected the bouncer to Reinhold at short for a flip to second and the out. 

Celebrating the key stand, the Captains offense ignited for two runs in the bottom of the seventh with, who else, Sam Benedict as the catalyst. The junior singled just inside the foul line down the left field line and Jake followed with a single into right field. Liakos then put down a sacrifice bunt and reached on a throwing error that allowed the first run to score. After the Falcons went to the pen, the Captains called on pinch hitter Jacob Koenig with one out and the sophomore delivered a deep drive for an out and a sacrifice fly. 

CNU was unable to come all the way back in the inning, but trimmed the lead to just one, 5-4, heading into the eighth. Jackson Gimbel and Christian Williams combined to get three outs without allowing a hit in the top half and the offense took care of the rest in the bottom. 

CNU sent 11 batters to the plate as the Captains scored five runs on four hits to flip the scoreboard and take control. Maxie and Stuffel led off with back-to-back walks before Slough laid down a bunt and sprinted down the line to beat it out for a base hit. With the bases loaded, Sam Benedict capped his productive day with the game-tying RBI walk to tie the game up at 5-5. Jake Benedict singled through the left side to plate two more and Liakos followed with another textbook bunt to load the bases again. 

Reinhold worked a four-pitch walk to plate another run and the junior reached base for the first time in game two. With the free pass in his final plate appearance, Reinhold has now reached base in 84 of his 85 career games played including both games on Friday. 

The rally would continue when Grant Hartman stroked a single into left field for an RBI, and Christopher Newport took a four-run lead, 9-5. 

On the mound, Chase Hustead started and pitched into the fourth inning before Morrison took over. Morrison struck out one and allowed just two hits while tossing 3.1 scoreless innings of work. Gimbel struck out one in the eighth and Williams (1-0) earned the win with two-thirds of an inning to close out the inning. Finally, Colin D'Arcy made his first appearance of the year in the top of the ninth and helped secure the win with a game-ending double play. 

On Friday, Stuffel extended his team-high on-base streak to 26 games after ending his sophomore season having reached in 24 consecutive games. In game one, Stuffel was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and he finished 0-for-2 with a pair of walks and runs scored in game two. 

The Captains and Falcons will return to action on Saturday, February 15 at 10:00 a.m. Game time has been moved up to 10 to try to avoid expected rainfall in the afternoon.