NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team will return to the diamond on Tuesday for non-conference action, hosting Methodist University at 3:00 pm. The Captains (18-5) are looking to win their sixth straight game while the Monarchs, receiving votes in the D3baseball.com National Rankings, have started the year 16-9.
The two former conference rivals have matched up 89 times since 1982, with the Monarchs holding a 59-30 advantage in the all-time series. Tuesday's matchup will be the first return to Newport News for Methodist since the Captains left the USA South Athletic Conference following the 2013 season.
Live stats will be available of the non-conference tilt at CNUsports.com/live, or via links found on the baseball schedule at CNUsports.com.
This season, the Captains have featured a potent offense averaging 8.95 runs per game with a .312 team batting average. CNU is on a roll offensively, scoring seven runs or more in each of the last seven games and picking up a record of 6-1 in that span. Senior
Kyle Corwin has surged at the plate during the roll, raising his average 32 points during a five-game hit streak. Corwin has driven in 12 runs over the last seven games, including a pair of 3-RBI games in conference play.
The Captains have also gotten impressive production out of the catcher spot, as
Collin Lawless and
Brandon Walker have shared the load behind the plate. Lawless has 11 hits in 24 at-bats this season, with eight of those knocks going for doubles. Walker has a pair of home runs and has driven in 10.
On the mound, junior
Michael Thomas was named the CAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after a complete game shutout last week in a spot start. The lefty reliever made just his fifth career start and went the distance for his second win of the year. Rookie
Austin Slough leads the team in wins, going 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA in 22 innings of work, while senior
Blake Ream leads the team in strikeouts with 38 in 29 innings pitched.
Coming into Tuesday's matchup, Methodist had won ten straight before dropping two of three to N.C. Wesleyan in conference play this weekend. Alex Rodriguez leads the offense, with 10 extra-base hits and 23 RBI, while hitting .356. Davis Cass, at .352, and Stephen Nalls, at .341 have also started all 25 games for Methodist with 17 RBI each.
Seth Beard boasts a 2-2 record with a 1.98 ERA, and Madison Cook is 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA, as the primary relievers for the Monarchs. Beard has also made four starts and ranks second on the team in strikeouts with 31 in 27.1 innings.
Following Tuesday's non-conference matchup with the Monarchs, Christopher Newport will then take on the University of Mary Washington on Wednesday in CAC action. The Captains defeated the Eagles on the road this season, 10-5.
