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William Peace University

1
William Peace WPU 1-2
2
Winner Chris. Newport CNU 1-0
William Peace WPU
1-2
1
Final
2
Chris. Newport CNU
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
William Peace WPU 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 3
Chris. Newport CNU 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 6 0

W: Jack Rosenberg (1-0) L: Mieldezis, Ethan (0-1)

Baseball vs. Christopher Newport 2024
Sydney Smith/CNU
Pacers Celebrate A Big Play Against Christopher Newport

Game Recap: Baseball | | WPU Athletic Communications

Pacers Nearly Pull Off Win In 10th Inning Loss To Nationally-Ranked Christopher Newport

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – William Peace was on the brink of beating nationally-ranked Christopher Newport in a 2-1 ten-inning baseball loss at Captains Park on Friday.

The Pacers went toe-to-toe with the Captains, ranked 20th in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Preseason Top 25 Poll. The game was up for grabs until the Captains scored in the 10th.

"I was really proud of our effort!," WPU Head Coach Charlie Long said. "This was an important game for our guys to see how we measured up against one of the better teams in the country. They certainly held their own and put up a great fight!"

Coach Long had high praise for his pitchers, who kept the nationally-ranked Captains off balanced most of the game. The Pacers used eight pitchers, and they limited the Captains to six hits. Starting pitcher Grady Swinson set the tone, allowing zero runs and only two hits while recording five strikeouts in three innings.

The Captains didn't fare much better against WPU's relief pitching. Seven pitchers combined for seven strikeouts, four hits allowed and two runs in seven innings. The Pacers managed five hits but superb pitching kept the game close.

The Pacers surprised the Captains by taking a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. Nick Tyler reached base on a walk and later scored on Griffin Sandstrum's RBI single. The lead held up until the seventh when a wild pitch allowed the Captains to tie the score.

WPU's bats started to come alive in the later innings. Led by singles from Adam Joseph and Cameron Barefoot, the visitors threatened to score again in the eighth. The bases were loaded with one out but the Captains escaped the inning.

In the ninth inning, the Pacers had runners on first and second with two outs. Jacob Case smacked a hard shot that appeared headed to the outfield. But the Captains' shortstop caught the hard-hit line drive for the third out.

The Pacers stopped a ninth-inning scoring threat to force the extra inning. A runner reached third with one out but relief pitcher Justin Hamilton forced a pop up and posted a strikeout to extend the game.

The Pacers were so close to scoring in the 10th. Tyler reached second base on a single and wild pitch. He stole third as Sandstrum was heading to first base on a walk. On the next at bat, however, Tyler was caught stealing home in a very close play at the plate.

Then with two outs in the bottom half of the 10th, the Captains strung together three straight singles, including one for an RBI, for the final score.

Despite the loss, the Pacers can hold their heads high. After facing Christopher Newport, William Peace proved it can play with any team in the country.

The Pacers play again Saturday in a home doubleheader against Mitchell as part of a three-game weekend series. The first game begins at noon followed by the second game at approximately 3 p.m. The site is the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.
 
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Scoring Summary

Score By Innings
Play WPU CNU
WPU TOP 4th G. Sandstrum singled to right center, RBI (0-0); N. Tyler scored. 1 0
CNU BOT 7th J. Liakos advanced to second on a wild pitch; J. Benedict advanced to third on a wild pitch; S. Crosson scored on a wild pitch. 1 1
CNU BOT 10th D. Daniels singled to left field, RBI (1-0 B); S. Crosson advanced to second; G. Spencer scored. 1 2

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