The University of Mary Washington softball team strung together three straight two-out singles to plate the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning, in capturing the first game of the Capital Athletic Conference championship series over Christopher Newport, 5-4, on Friday afternoon at the Battleground. The Eagles improve to 22-17 and will host the Captains on Saturday at 10 a.m. in game two, with a third to follow if necessary.
The Captains jumped ahead first, scoring four runs in the third inning on a three-run homer and a sacrifice fly. The Eagles responded with two in the third, as Caroline Bird led off with a walk, and moved to third after a sacrifice and a single from Maggie Mrowka. Rachel Porchie followed with an RBI single to score one run, and Dayla Sawyer followed with a sacrifice fly to trim the margin to 4-2.
While the Captains' bats went cold, the Eagles scored a pair in the sixth. With one out, Megan Hibbs and Rachel Remer singled, and both runners came around to score on an error to knot the game.
In the seventh, the Eagles used consecutive two-out singles from Danielle Newman, Courtney Shea, and Remer to win the game.
Mrowka, Porchie, Hibbs, and Remer each had two hits in the 10-hit attack. Hibbs gained the win in relief, allowing no runs on two hits in 4.2 innings, with no walks or strikeouts.
UMW will face the Captains at 10 a.m. on Saturday, with a second game to follow if necessary. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship next week.