BURLINGTON, N.C. -- The second-ranked Christopher Newport Captains (26-6) will begin defense of their USA South Conference Championship Title tonight, as the 2012 conference tournament gets underway at the Burlington Athletic Stadium in North Carolina. CNU will play in the nightcap, an 8:00 pm start against fifth-seeded Ferrum College in an elimination game for the Panthers. Win or lose, the Captains will face #4 Methodist Friday at 1:30 pm.

Game times for the first day of the 2012 USA South Spring Baseball championship are 9:30 am, 1:00 pm, 4:30 pm and 8:00 pm.

CNU, winners of the outright regular season title, is the top seed in the tournament and moved up to No. 2 in the national rankings this week. The Captains are looking to shrug off a pair of losses to Shenandoah and Bridgewater in their last two games, despite scoring 20 runs.

The CNU offense has been led by First Team All-Conference third baseman Luke Saunders, hitting .325 with 33 RBI and three homers, and First Team All-Conference outfielder Shannon Mark, the Captains' leadoff hitter batting .369 with 28 runs scored.

On the mound, First Team All-Conference pitchers Greg Goldsmith and Ryan Fleischmann have led the way for CNU. Goldsmith has gone 5-1 with a 1.80 ERA with two complete games and a shutout. Fleischmann leads the league in saves with seven this year, going 2-2 with a 2.25 ERA in 18 total appearances.

CNU split both season series with Methodist and Ferrum earlier this year. Methodist ace and USA South Pitcher of the Year Chris Perry is slated to start the morning tilt against the Panthers, while Ferrum will throw Second Team All-Conference starter Chris Walker.

Live stats and a live audio webcast will be available through CNUsports.como. The tournament website with a full breakdown of the schedule and more can be found by clicking here.