4
#1 Shenandoah SUB 31-4
5
Winner #2 Christ. Newport CNU 35-4
#1 Shenandoah SUB
31-4
4
Final
5
#2 Christ. Newport CNU
35-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
#1 Shenandoah SUB 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 4 10 1
#2 Christ. Newport CNU 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 X 5 11 0

W: VERDILLO, Matt (3-0) L: Scallion, Kyle (5-1) S: FLEISCHMANN, Ryan (7)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Falls in Championship

By Drew Wilson, Averett SID

BURLINGTON, N.C. —- No. 4/4 Christopher Newport rallied to beat No. 1/1 Shenandoah University 5-4 and win the USA South Conference Tournament championship Sunday afternoon at Burlington Athletic Stadium. 

The win gives CNU (35-4) the league's automatic berth into the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

Shenandoah (31-4) led 4-3 entering the bottom of the eighth inning only to see the Captains rally for the victory.

Matt Shoemaker led off the CNU eighth with a single before moving into scoring position on a sacrifice. Billy Steel, the tournament MVP, singled through the right side to tie it before Drue Vernon brought home Steel for the eventual game-winning run with a two-out single on a right field.

Vernon is in his second year with the Captains after starting his collegiate baseball career at SU.

Kevin Brashears drew a leadoff walk to start the ninth for the Hornets and moved to second base on a sac bunt, but CNU closer Ryan Fleischman struck out the final two Shenandoah batters to earn the save and give the Captains the title.

Christopher Newport took a 1-0 lead thanks to Luke Saunders' first-inning solo homer down the left field line. Cory Nelson answered for Shenandoah in the Hornets next at bat by doubling and eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly.

SU took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on a run-scoring groundout and then jumped ahead 4-1 when Keaton Neeb knocked a two-run single down the left field line in the sixth.

CNU cut the deficit to two on a Ben Lenda solo homer in the sixth before bringing it to 4-3 with Shannon Mark's RBI single through the right side.

Matt Verdillo, who also made the all-tournament team for the Captains, pitched two innings of shutout relief to earn the win.

Christopher Newport's Saunders, Shoemaker and Connor Madden were also selected to the all-tournament team, along with Brashears, Greg Van Sickler, and Kyle Scallion for SU.

Van Sickler finished 3-for-5 with one run scored to lead Shenandoah at the plate.

Scallion (5-1) suffered the loss on the mound. He allowed two runs on three hits in 1 2/3.

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