BUENA VISTA, Va. -- The Christopher Newport baseball team continued its ascent in the D3baseball.com National Rankings, moving up to No. 14 in this week's poll. CNU picked up one spot in the Top 25, remaining one of four Capital Athletic Conference teams in the national poll. The Captains (14-5, 4-2) will travel to play Southern Virginia University (6-14, 2-4) on Wednesday in CAC action at 3:00 pm. 

For the fourth straight week, the CNU baseball team moved up in the national rankings, sliding up to No. 14 after running their overall record to 14-5 last week. The Captains' offense ranks among the nations' elite in multiple facets of the game, including ranking third nationally in home runs and second in stolen bases. CNU has also been terrific in working free passes, ranking sixth in the country in walks and eighth in total hit-by-pitches. 

CNU will face the Knights on Wednesday with live stats and a video webcast available at CNUsports.com. Links can be found on the baseball schedule. Following Wednesday's matchup with Southern Virginia, CNU will stay on the road to take on Bridgewater College on Thursday, March 24 at 4:00 pm. 

Senior right-hander Blake Ream improved to 2-0 with a win over nationally-ranked Mary Washington in his last start, throwing into the 7th inning against the Eagles. In three appearances prior to that, Ream struck out 21 batters in 15 innings and continues to lead the CNU rotation with a team-high 27 strikeouts in 23.0 innings pitched.

The bullpen has thrived all season long, posting a combined 9-3 record with a 2.57 ERA, led by 12 appearances from Caleb Myers and 11 by senior closer Adam Emerson. Emerson's 14.5 K/9 is a team-best, while also holding opponents to a .152 batting average against. Myers leads the team in appearances and victories, posting a 3-1 record a 2.37 ERA so far this year. The younger arms in the Captains' pen have also impressed, highlighted by Austin Slough with a 3-0 record and 1.06 ERA in his first 17.0 innings of work. 

Southern Virginia has been led by an impressive freshman third baseman, Marcus Begg, who is hitting .342 through the first 20 games for the Knights. The rookie leads teh team in RBI (17), home runs (3) and runs scored (12), while also delivering a team-best nine extra-base hits. Freshman Jordan Nase and sophomore Ryan Saunders have also added double-digit RBI totals so far, with 10 RBI each. Cody Davis adds to the strong rookie contingent, leading the team with 10 steals while getting caught only twice. On the mound, junior right-hander Colin Bigelow leads the way with a 2.41 ERA in six starts, striking out 29 in 33.2 innings of work. The rest of the staff has struggled so far, with a 5.60 team ERA. 

Following the two mid-week games, Christopher Newport will return home on Saturday, March 26 to host Marymount University for a CAC doubleheader beginning at Noon.