ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- With all ten teams still alive in the Capital Atheltic Conference Tournament picture and the regular season winding down, the Captains (10-11, 4-9) are heading out of town for a pivotal doubleheader Saturday at St. Mary's College (Md.). Both teams have four wins in the CAC standings, as five teams battle for the final four playoff spots; Salisbury and Frostburg State have clinched postseason berths already.
CNU will hit the road to take on the Seahawks (7-13, 4-7) with first pitch of game one scheduled for Noon. Live stats will be available for both games, with links found on the baseball schedule on either team's Athletics website. The Captains will be looking to shake off a four-game slide, while St. Mary's is coming off a 5-4 win over Wesley, snapping a three-game losing streak. CNU has just five games left on the CAC schedule, while St. Mary's has seven.
The CNU offense has been led by four players hitting over .300 this season, including rookie
Craig Johnson. The freshman left-hander has taken over as the starting right fielder for the second half of the season, and is among the team's leading hitters in the last 10 games. He is hitting .395 on the year with 15 hits and nine runs scored.
Brandon Ginch and
Keith Roberts have yet to miss a game this season, and are hitting .346 and .338, respectively. Both have a team-high 15 RBI while ranking first and second on the team in runs scored.
On the mound, twelve different Captains have registered at least six appearances this season, including senior
Brett Mays who has yet to give up an earned run in 10.1 innings of work.
Justin Garber and
Caleb Myers lead the bullpen, while
Blake Ream and
Cameron Parker have locked down the front end of the rotation. Ream, a junior righty, leads the team with six starts and 25 strikeouts in 26.1 innings pitched.
St. Mary's has a similar resume to CNU this season, but is playing well down the stretch with five wins in the last eight games, including a 6-2 win over Mary Washington. The Seahawks are led by Paul Roemer, Brad Dioguardo and Luke Green with 20+ hits each through the first 20 games of the season. Roemer has a team-high .357 average, and leads the team with four extra-base hits. Dioguardo and Green are each hitting .333; Dioguardo has scored a team-high 14 times, while Green leads the team with 16 RBI.
As a team, the Seahawks have a 7.01 ERA, but have gotten a strong senior season from Patrick Watson. Despite just a 1-1 overall record, Watson has posted a 2.83 ERA in seven appearances and four starts. He hasn't allowed a run in over 11 innings, after pitching a complete game shutout against Penn State Harrisburg last weekend. Nicholas Raimondo (2-0, 5.55 ERA) has a team-best 16 strikeouts in 24.1 innings of work.
CNU will also take on the Newport News Apprentice School on Sunday, with first pitch slated for 2:00 pm.
