SALEM, Va.- The Christopher Newport softball team opens play in the 2013 NCAA Tournament Thursday, and officials today moved the start times of all four opening day games back two hours. Recent heavy rain in the Roanoke/Salem region and a forecast of some more showers forced the change in schedules.

The Captains, seeded fourth and ranked 15th nationally, will play the Maroons of Roanoke, First pitch is now set for 2 p.m. at the Moyer Complex in Salem.

Christopher Newport has a record of 32-11 and the Captains advanced to the 62-team NCAA field by winning the USA South Championship. It is CNU's 11th trip to the NCAA Tournament in 29 years of softball competition. Keith Parr's squad is playing in the national tournament for the seventh straight season.

Roanoke, the fifth seed in the regional, has a record of 30-12 this year. The Maroons received an at-large bid to the tournament. The Captains will be looking for revenge following two losses to Roanoke last year in the NCAA regional at Captains Park, ousting CNU from the tournament. CNU and Roanoke have played 11 games in softball action over the years, with the Maroons holding a 6-5 edge in the all-time series. The schools last met on May 13th and 14th last year in the NCAA regional at Captains Park. Roanoke won both games by scores of 4-1 and 3-1.

Christopher Newport is 20-20 all-time in NCAA play. CNU's deepest penetration in the bracket came in the 2011 tournament when the Captains finished as the national runner-up.

CNU has surged late in the season, and the Captains have won nine straight games entering the tournament. CNU ended the year by winning 22 of its last 26 games. Christopher Newport is led by sophomore first baseman Sabrina Hill, the USA South Player of the Year for the second straight season. Hill led the Captains with 8 home runs and 51 runs batted in and hit .378. Senior catcher Chelsea Mitchell topped the team with a .382 batting average. The Captains also feature three senior starting pitchers who have had standout seasons; Whitney Haller, Krista Townsend, and Melanie Hazelwood. 

Salisbury (35-2) is the top seed in the regional and also the top team in the country, and will play eighth-seeded Penn State-Altoona (27-10) at 12 noon to open the action. In other games Thursday, second-seeded Emory (39-3) will take on seventh-seeded Neumann (29-14) at 6 p.m. The Eagles of Emory are ranked fourth in the nation. Third-seeded Lynchburg (32-11) tangles with sixth-seeded Piedmont (31-8) at 4 p.m. Lynchburg is ranked 20th in the country.

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