NEWPORT NEWS, Va. --- The top-seeded Christopher Newport University baseball team defeated fifth-seeded Lynchburg College, 7-1, in game four of the NCAA Division III South Regional at CNU on Thursday. With the loss, Lynchburg is eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.

CNU stymied the Lynchburg offense, holding the Hornets to just one run and four hits. The Captains put up three runs in the first three innings and added four in the seventh.

Freshman starting pitcher Brandon Miller dealt with traffic on the bases in the first inning though limited the Captains to just one run while striking out two in the frame.

Leading off the second inning, junior Dan Savage singled and stole second. He advanced to third before scoring off a sacrifice fly from junior Ashton Paige to knot the game at one.

Tied 1-1 in the top of the third, CNU put up two runs, taking advantage of two Lynchburg errors.

After three scoreless innings, the Captains tacked on four runs, making it a 7-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. Christopher Newport limited the Hornets for the rest of the game and finished with the victory.

CNU starting pitcher Bryan Bierlein went six innings, holding Lynchburg to only three hits and one run while striking out six. 

Miller went six innings before giving way to sophomore Michael Mansfield on the mound who pitched three effective innings.

Christopher Newport (31-8) plays the loser of Salisbury University and Shenandoah University on Friday.

Lynchburg finishes the season with a 34-10 overall record and a 14-4 mark in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). The 2012 Hornets captured the ODAC Tournament title for the first time since 1990 in April with a win over Bridgewater College and ranked as high as No.16 in the Collegiate Baseball poll.

This release is courtesy of the Lynchburg College sports information department.