FROSTBURG, Md. -- The 11th-ranked Christopher Newport baseballt eam hits the road this weekend for a key conference doubleheader, as the Captains (19-6, 7-3) will take on 22nd-ranked Frostburg State University (13-7, 6-4) starting at Noon. Live stats will be available for both games, with links found on the baseball schedule at CNUsports.com.
After all three teams in first place atop the CAC standings suffered mid-week losses on Wednesday, the conference standings are ever tighter, with the Bobcats now just one game behind the three-way logjam at the top. CNU is tied with Marymount, who hosts York (Pa.), and Salisbury, who hosts Mary Washington, this weekend. The top seven teams in the standings are separated by just two games.
The Captains won six straight before a setback to Mary Washington on Wednesday, and the offense has been chugging along with nine straight games scoring seven runs or more. CNU is hitting .320 as a team and averaging 9.28 runs per game, while pounding out an average of 3.64 extra-base hits per game.
Individually, senior
Tommy Vitaletti is having a stellar season, leading the team in virtually every offensive statistic and among the league leaders across the board. Vitaletti is hitting .430 with 35 runs, 31 RBI, 12 doubles, eight home runs and 17 stolen bases. He is the head of the nation's leading team in stolen bases, as the Captains have ripped off 74 bases in 81 attempts this season, with Vitaletti going 17-for-17.
Designated hitter
Brandon Ginch is leading thet eam in on-base percentage, with a .509 mark, and has already registered 25 walks this season. Second baseman
Keith Roberts has also worked 10 walks and has been hit-by-pitch 13 times, for a .477 on-base percentage. Both players rank in the top five in runs abtted in and runs scored this season for CNU.
Frostburg State reached the NCAA World Series for the first time in program history last season, and finished the year with 43 wins and ranked No. 2 in the nation. This season, led by sophomore All-American Greg Schneider, the Bobcats opened the year with five straight wins, but struggled through an up-and-down portion of their schedule and now carry a 13-7 record into Saturday's twin bill. Schneider picked up right where he left off as one of the nation's elite utility men, boasting a 3-0 record, 1.77 ERA in five starts to go with a .313 average in nine games played offensively.
Also excelling on the hill, Anderson Burgess is 2-0 with a 2.49 ERA in five games, while Lane Ward is 2-1 with a 3.25 ERA this season, in five starts. Offensively, the Bobcats are hitting .303 this season led by K.J. Hockaday, hitting .431 with 24 RBI and 22 runs scored. Jamaal Windom, at .375, is ranked second with seven extra-base hits.
Following Saturday's action, the Captains will return home for a non-conference doubleheader on Monday afternoon, taking on N.C. Wesleyan at 1:00 pm.
