Christopher Newport stormed back with two victories on Friday (May 10) over Penn State Harrisburg to win the 2019 CAC Baseball Tournament Championship. The Captains hoisted the title after victories of 8-4 and 16-5 to claim their first Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Championship in program history. 

GAME 2

Christopher Newport stayed alive with an 8-4 victory in Game 2 to tie the series at 1-1 and force a decisive final contest for the championship. 

The CNU pitching staff recorded 12 strikeouts in the game, highlighted by Tyler Jumper who moved to 7-0 on the season with six strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work as he followed Teddy Herbert's 4-inning, 4-strikeout performance to start. 

The Captains took an early 2-0 lead in the third before posting four runs in the fourth to take a 6-2 edge as the Lions would never catch up. Eric O'Brien led CNU with two hits,. while Seth Woodard and Nick DiNapoli each registered two RBI apiece.

GAME 3

Joseph Cutchins hit two home runs and drove in nine runs to lift Christopher Newport to the championship by a 16-5 margin in the winner-take-all finale of the CAC Tournament.

After Penn State took an early 1-0 lead, DiNapoli smoked a 2-run homer over the left field wall to give CNU the 2-1 edge. The Captains would go on to lead 4-1 after two before adding four in the fourth, three in the fifth and five in the sixth to put the contest out of reach. 

Cutchins hit a pair of 3-run home runs in consecutive at-bats during the fourth and fifth frames to extend the CNU advantage to 11-5. He then added a 2 RBI double in the sixth to add to his impressive day. Nick Baham, Trey Hicks, Ryan Grubbs, O'Brien and DiNapoli all recorded two hits each in the win. Brian Owens earned the win on the mound for CNU going 3.2 IP with three strikeouts. 

2019 CAC Baseball Tournament Schedule
(all CAC Tournament games are 9 innings):

First Weekend – Two Three-Team Pods at No. 1 & No. 2 seeds

Pod A (1, 4, and 6 seeds) - at No. 1 Salisbury
Day 1 - Friday, May 3
Game 1 - #4 Penn State Harrisburg def. #6 Southern Virginia, 13-5 - BOX SCORE
Game 2 - #1 Salisbury def. #6 Southern Virginia, 6-2 - BOX SCORE
Game 3 - #4 Penn State Harrisburg def. #1 Salisbury, 5-0 - BOX SCORE

Day 2 - Saturday, May 4
Game 4 - #1 Salisbury def. #4 Penn State Harrisburg, 26-9
Game 5 - #4 Penn State Harrisburg def. #1 Salisbury, 10-5

Pod B (2, 3, and 5 seeds) - at No. 2 Christopher Newport
Day 1 - Friday, May 3
Game 1 - #5 Mary Washington def. #3 York (Pa.), 16-6 - BOX SCORE
Game 2 - #2 Christopher Newport def. #3 York (Pa.), 8-1 - BOX SCORE
Game 3 - #2 Christopher Newport def. #5 Mary Washington, 19-7 - BOX SCORE

Day 2 - Saturday, May 4
Game 4 - #2 Christopher Newport def. #5 Mary Washington, 11-4

Second Weekend - Best-of-Three Championship Series at highest remaining seed - at Christopher Newport University

Day 1 - Thursday, May 9
Game 1 - #4 Penn State Harrisburg def. #1 Christopher Newport, 19-8

Day 2 - Friday, May 10
Game 2 - #2 Christopher Newport def. #4 Penn State Harrisburg, 8-4
Game 3 - #2 Christopher Newport def. #4 Penn State Harrisburg, 16-5