NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Head coach John Harvell and the Christopher Newport University baseball team will host opening day on Monday, February 4 at 2:00 pm against Hampden-Sydney College (0-2). The Captains, ranked eighth in the preseason Top 25 by D3baseball.com, will open up a nine-game homestand to start the season with the Monday afternoon tilt against the Tigers. 

Live stats will be available at CNUsports.com, or by clicking here. 

CNU will be led offensively by Christopher McDougal and Billy Steel. McDougal, a senior first baseman/designated hitter, was the team's leading hitter last year with a .359 average. Steel ranked third, hitting .312 while starting all 44 games at shortstop for Harvell. The two helped lead CNU to an NCAA South Region title and subsequent NCAA National Championship appearance. 

Meanwhile, on the hill, CNU returns almost the entire pitching staff from last season and boasts some exciting new arms. In the bullpen, seniors Richard Lindsay (4-1, 2.48 ERA), Matt Verdillo (4-0, 1.67 ERA) and Ryan Fleischmann (2-2, 2.12 ERA) locked down the final innings last season and will all return in 2013. In the rotation, returners Bryan Bierlein (3-3, 3.52 ERA), Nick Santalucia (6-0, 3.66 ERA) and Jacob Vaughan (5-1, 4.11 ERA) will be joined by newcomers Austin Chrismon (ECU) and Brandon Taylor (Richmond, Va.). 

Hampden-Sydney opened its season on Saturday, dropping a doubleheader to Averett University. The Tigers fell, 4-3, in the opener and 11-3 in the second game, both seven-inning contests. Hunter Lewis was 3-for-3 with an RBI and run scored in the first game to lead the way.