NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Captains Park will play host to four games this weekend, including three for Christopher Newport baseball beginning on Friday afternoon. The Captains (4-5) will wrap up a nine-game homestand with two games versus Susquehanna University (0-0) sandwiching a matchup with preseason number one SUNY Cortland (2-0).
The weekend will begin with the host Captains taking on Susquehanna at 2:00 pm on Friday afternoon. On Saturday, the Crusaders will have a chance to avenge their loss to Cortland State in the NCAA Regional Championship last season, with first pitch set for 11:00 am. Following the neutral site contest, Christopher Newport will take a crack at the top-ranked Red Dragons, who come into the weekend with only a series sweep over Salisbury on their ledger. Rounding out the weekend, the Captains will take on Susquehanna again on Sunday, February 26, at 1:00 pm.
Live stats will be available for all four games, and a live video stream for the CNU contests. Those links can be found at CNUsports.com/live or through the baseball schedule on CNUsports.com.
Earlier this week, the Captains split a pair of home games when they defeated Elmira College, 6-5, in extra innings, and dropped a tight 7-5 decision to 8th-ranked Randolph-Macon.
Keith Roberts led the offense while relief pitching was strong for the Captains in both games. Against the Soaring Eagles, sophomore
Thomas Packert tossed four no-hit innings to earn the win in relief, and versus Randolph-Macon,
Logan Aylor also pitched four innings, striking out four and giving up just three hits.
Joe Burris continued his stellar start to the season with a perfect 1-2-3 eighth inning against the Yellow Jackets.
Burris has opened his junior campaign with a 1.00 ERA through his first six appearances, striking out 13 batters in 9.0 innings of work. He's anchoring a bullpen that has also seen Packert, Aylor, and rookie
Tyler Jumper pitch multiple quality innings so far this season. In the rotation, senior
Michael Thomas (1-0, 1.50 ERA) has tossed a pair of quality starts to begin his swan song season, striking out nine in 12.0 innings of work.
The offense has been led by three players hitting over .390 through the first nine games, including sophomore
Nicholas Baham, who was honored on the D3baseball.com National Team of the Week after his hot start. Baham is hitting a team-best .395 with six extra-base hits and 10 RBI.
Craig Johnson (.391) and
Jordan Mason (.390) are the other two hot bats so far this season, with 19 runs and 13 RBI combined.
Susquehanna will be opening their season at Captains Park this weekend after finishing an historic season in 2016 ranked 15th in the country. The Crusaders finished with a program record 33 wins last season, winning the Landmark Conference title before going on to win four games in the NCAA Regional. The team will be dealing with the loss of Conference Player of the Year and All-American outfielder Justin Cassinelli, who led Susquehanna in nearly every statistically category last year. That said, the offense will welcome back D3baseball.com Preseason All-America catcher Zach Leone, who hit .444 with 53 RBI and 20 double last season.
SUNY Cortland is 2-0 heading into this weekend's trip to the Old Dominion state, where they will also face nationally-ranked Randolph-Macon on Sunday. The Red Dragons reached the Division III World Series in Wisconsin last season before being eliminated by eventual national champion Trinity (Texas). Cortland won the New York Regional Championship and advanced to the Division III Championship site for the third consecutive season. Steven Figueroa, who was named the Regional MVP, returns in 2017 to lead a talented offense that returns three of it's leading hitters from a year ago. Figueroa opened up the season with a splash, going 7-for-9 in two starts against the Sea Gulls, driving in six runs and scoring six times.
Following the weekend at Captains Park, CNU will hit the road for one game at Hampden-Sydney College on Tuesday, February 28 before returning home for another eight straight home games.
