WILSON, N.C. -- The 2013 USA South Spring Sports Championships will get underway first thing in the morning on Thursday, April 11, as the eighth-ranked Captains play host to #8-seeded Greensboro College at 9:30 am. The two teams will face off at Fleming Stadium in Wilson, North Carolina opening up the first round; live stats and video are available.
Averett University's official athletics website will house the
2013 Tournament Central here. Click the link for schedules, links for live stats and video, and more...
The top-seeded CNU Captains (27-9-1) won the outright conference championship in 2013, earning the #1 seed for the second year in a row. Head coach
John Harvell is looking to guide Christopher Newport to a third straight league championship and the subsequent automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. This year, the last for the Captains in the USA South, CNU boasts 10 All-Conference selections, announced earlier Wednesday.
Leading the way offensively is first team All-Conference and Player of the Year,
Justin Weaver. The Captains junior transfer is hitting .391 with 43 RBI and 19 extra-base hits. Junior shortstop
Billy Steel, a third team All-Conference selection, was named the USA South Tournament MVP as a freshman and has twice been named to the All-Tournament team. This year, he's hitting .351 with a team-best 42 runs scored and three home runs.
On the hill, CNU boasts one of the finest pitching staffs in program history, led by three first-team All-Conference selections and one second-team.
Austin Chrismon, named USA South Pitcher of the Year on Wednesday, ranks second in the nation in strikeouts with 75, going 6-3 with three complete games. His team-best ERA 1.62 is just slightly better than junior
Bryan Bierlein's at 1.80, who has posted a record of 7-2 with 70 strikeouts this year. Senior closer
Ryan Fleischmann rounded out the first-team All-Conference pitching honors, as CNU swept the position in 2013. Fleischmann became the league's all-time leader in career saves, and ranks fourth all-time at the NCAA Division III level, with 29.
Rookie
Brandon Taylor earned USA South Rookie Pitcher of the Year honors, after going 6-2 this season with a 2.84 ERA. With 56 strikeouts in 57.0 innings pitched, Taylor has helped anchor a dominant pitching staff. With Bierlein and Chrismon, Taylor helped toss 22 straight quality starts against the USA South this year.
Greensboro comes into Thursday's opening round winners in three of their last five games, but that stretch is following a run of seven straight losses. Earlier in the season, CNU took two of three from the Pride on the road, but Greensboro won a 2-1 game in which Chrismon struck out a record 18 batters. Sophomore James Feldmann leads the offense, hitting .351 with 25 RBI, earning All-Conference honors.
