NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Despite a 44-minute rain delay in the top of the first inning, both starting pitchers were unfazed and put together a pair of outstanding postseason performances in the NCAA Newport News Super Regional opener on Friday afternoon as 11th-ranked Misericordia (37-9) nipped the 10th-ranked Christopher Newport Captains (29-11) in a 3-1 final. Sophomore Brandon Cassedy was the tough-luck losing pitcher for the Captains despite eight strong frames against the pesky Cougars lineup.
In game one of the first Super Regional in program history, the Captains took a 1-0 lead after three innings courtesy of a solo home run by senior Scott Crosson. Misericordia snuck across an unearned run in the fifth to tie the game and then got a go-ahead single with two outs in the top of the seventh before adding an insurance run in the eighth.
It was the 11th time this season that Misericordia scored the game-winning run in the seventh inning or later when Owen Cordner singled home Joe Comins against Cassedy. Prior to the inning, Cassedy had cruised through six with just one hit allowed and one unearned run.
The sophomore right-hander worked himself into a small jam to open the game putting two runners on with just one out in the midst of a steady rain, but facing MAC Freedom Player of the Year Connor Maryniak with a 2-2 count, the umpires called for a stoppage in play to allow the inclement weather to pass through. After 44 minutes, the teams returned to the field and Cassedy struck out the big hitter in a big moment and added another K to end the threat. The back-to-back strikeouts triggered a run of eight straight retired and 11 of 12 to get through the fourth inning unscathed.
In the bottom of the third, the Captains staked Cassedy to a 1-0 lead when Scott Crosson connected on the first pitch of his at-bat to a long fly ball to left. Tracking the ball, the outfielder leaped at the wall but it was beyond his outstretched glove and Crosson trotted his way around the bases for his first home run of the season to give CNU the first run of the game.
In the fifth, Misericordia tied the game up with Jason Sanfilippo reached on a hit-by-pitch and moved up on a sacrifice bunt. After stealing third, an error allowed Sanfilippo to jog home with the game-tying run. Again, Cassedy strapped in and rallied to retire five in a row to get into the seventh inning.
Unfortunately, Joe Valenti was matching Cassedy pitch for pitch on the other side. The graduate student starting for the Cougars worked around baserunners in the first, fourth, fifth, and seventh innings before handing the ball off to the team's veteran closer, Matt Lanzendorfer, for the final two innings. With a two-run lead, Lanzendorfer closed out the win for his sixth save of the season, facing just seven batters with two strikeouts.
The game-winning hit came in the top of the seventh when Comins led off with a single and, formulaic for the Cougars, moved up on a sacrifice bunt. After Cassedy nearly got out of it with a fly ball to right and worked ahead in the count to Cordner, the freshman delivered with an RBI single into center field. The Cougars tacked on another run in the eighth when Brock Bollinger scored on a single by Comins to make it 3-1.
CNU managed just four hits in the game against Valenti and Lanzendorfer with Crosson's blast joined by a double from Josh Reinhold and singles by Lincoln Lubsen and Sam Benedict. Cassedy falls to 7-4 on the season despite a quality start in his final home game of the year.
The two teams will return to Captains Park on Saturday for game two of the Super Regional in a best-of-three series. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. and, if necessary, a third game would be played 45 minutes following the conclusion of game two. Live stats and a live video webcast are available online at CNUsports.com.
#10 CNU drops Super Regional game one in pitchers duel, 3-1, against #11 Misericordia
The Captains couldn't take advantages of opportunities to score leaving seven men on base for the game.