Christopher Newport and Salisbury are set to add another chapter to an already memorable season of softball matchups, as both the Captains and Sea Gulls captured NCAA Regional Championships on Sunday to set up a NCAA Super Regional showdown between the two CAC schools, beginning Friday. 

Christopher Newport (38-6), ranked fifth in the nation, won its 17th straight game Sunday, defeating Virginia Wesleyan 8-5 for the second straight day to capture the NCAA Regional hosted by the Marlins.

Fourth-ranked Salisbury picked up an 8-2 win against Manhattanville  on Sunday in the championship game of the Salisbury, Md. Regional. Needing to win just one of a possible two games, the Sea Gulls (38-3) grabbed the win in the first game, as Salisbury beat each of the other three teams in the regional once to claim the title.

The regional titles for the two squads sets up a best-of-three Super Regional on Friday and Saturday at the SU Softball complex. The NCAA Division III tournament began a new format this year, with smaller four-team regional tournaments feeding into eight head-to-head super regionals.

Christopher Newport's championship game on Sunday mirrored Saturday's battle between CNU and Virginia Wesleyan. The Captains broke out to an early 6-0 lead by scoring three runs in each of the first two innings, and then had to hold on and survive a frantic Marlin comeback effort. Virginia Wesleyan, ranked ninth in the country, saw its season come to a close at 39-7 after coming up short for the second straight day.

Freshman catcher Karlee Holzbach got things rolling for the Captains in the bottom of the first inning. Holzbach belted her fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot to left field, to give CNU the early 3-0 advantage. The Captains added three more in the second thanks to a run-scoring double from freshman Rachael Shiflett as well as RBI singles from freshman and Jenna Sprinkle and junior Sabrina Hill. 

The Marlins got to Captains starter Makayla Jenkins in the top of the third, scoring four times on just one base hit. CNU was hurt by two errors in the inning, and Jenkins also walked a batter, hit a batter, and threw two wild pitches that scored runs. Jenkins left during the third, replaced by fellow freshman Krista Lewis. VWC added another run in the fourth to cut the lead to 6-5, but it would be as close as the home team would get.

Christopher Newport plated two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, and Lewis (20-2) pitched the final five innings to earn the victory, allowing just one run on five hits and stranding nine VWC runners. 

The Captains registered 11 hits, led by junior Sabrina Hill  and sophomore Tori Clarke, who had two each. CNU handed Wesleyan starter MacKenzie Creech her first loss of the season. The senior finishes her career with a 16-1 record this year.

Hill went 7-for-12 with three RBI and two runs scored en route to Regional MVP honors.

Senior Candice Zollars, freshmen Rachael Shiflett, Karlee Holzbach and Krista Lewis were named to the all-tournament team.  

Salisbury, which had been held to six runs in their first two regional victories, struck first on Sunday, as sophomore Molly Simpson ripped an RBI single up the middle to give the Sea Gulls an early edge. 

The single was the first of three hits on the day for Simpson, who finished regionals with a .556 batting average (5-for-9), six RBIs and a home run to be named the Most Outstanding Player.

On the next pitch, Simpson took off for second base, prompting a throw from catcher Delores Diemeke. Second baseman Kirsten Savage stepped in front of the second base bag to cut off the throw, but dropped the ball. As soon as the ball came off Diemeke's glove, Angela Malgieri broke for home, sliding to the outside of home plate to get in for the insurance run and a 2-0 lead.

Salisbury broke things open in the top of the fourth inning, taking advantage of two more Manhattanville errors to bring home four runs on a pair of hits with the big knock a two-run single to right field by sophomore Kim Dorsey, capping the scoring in the frame.

The Sea Gulls would add two more runs, on an RBI single from Simpson and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Malgieri.

Malgieri, who scored three times and drove in two during the tournament, Johnson and senior first baseman Harley Hill, who went 4-for-10 ripping three doubles, were named to the All-Tournament team.