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BURLINGTON, N.C. — For the past two years, the team entering the championship with an undefeated tournament record came up short on the final day. Shenandoah University halted that streak on Sunday with a 7-4 victory over Christopher Newport University to win the USA South Conference Tournament championship on Sunday at Burlington Athletic Stadium.
The third-seeded Hornets could have wrapped up the title earlier in the day, but No. 4 seed Christopher Newport forced a deciding game for the USA South's automatic NCAA berth after holding off Shenandoah 5-4. The Hornets, who got swept on the final day of last year's tournament, didn't let it happen again. Shenandoah (33-7) earned its first conference baseball title in three trips to the championship game with a solid pitching and offensive showing against the Captains (23-14).
Shenandoah took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Cory Nelson's RBI double, and jumped ahead 4-0 with three runs in the third. Jon Holcomb and Scott Van Dusseldorp both doubled home a run and Greg Van Sickler had an RBI triple to give the Hornets a cushion.
That lead only grew over the next few innings as Shenandoah added two more runs in the fifth — including one on another Nelson double — and one more run in the sixth to go ahead 7-0.
Christopher Newport broke through in the seventh inning for two runs. The Captains loaded the bases with one out and scored runs when back-to-back batters were plunked. Shenandoah reliever Kyle Scallion came in kept another run from scoring as CNU left three runners stranded.
Despite giving up two runs in the ninth inning, Scallion finished off the Captains to earn his sixth save of the season. Shenandoah right-hander Jake Yocum (6-0) earned his second win of the tournament by allowing just two runs — both unearned — on four hits in 6.1 innings.
Shenandoah won the USA South championship a year after needing only one win on the final day during the 2009 tournament. N.C. Wesleyan College swept the Hornets on that Sunday to take the crown. In 2008, Christopher Newport accomplished the same feat against N.C. Wesleyan.
