ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- After taking over sole possession of first place in the Capital Athletic Conference standings on Wednesday, the Christopher Newport baseball team will look to continue it's winning ways on Saturday, March 25, as they hit the road to play at St. Mary's College of Maryland. The CAC doubleheader is set to begin at Noon on Saturday, with CNU riding an eight-game winning streak heading into the matchup. 

CNU is now 17-9 overall with a perfect 7-0 record in conference play. The host Seahawks will be rounding out a five-game homestand with the twin bill, carrying a 6-10 overall record and 0-5 mark in league action.

Live stats will be available at first pitch, with links found on the baseball schedule at CNUsports.com. 

Led by a strong performance from the pitching staff, the Captains are riding one of the longest win streaks in program history. Ranked tied for fourth among the longest rolls in program history, the eight-game winning streak is the second longest since the 2011 season when the Captains put together a record-breaking 26-game win streak. During the current spurt, CNU is outscoring opponents 69-15, and CNU pitching has held each opponent to four runs or fewer in all eight games. 

On Wednesday, the Captains walked off with a win over Salisbury University in a battle for first place in the league. CNU scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game, and then got a two-out game-winning single from sophomore second baseman Joseph Cutchins in the bottom of the 10th, powering CNU to a 5-4 win. 

Offensively, Christopher Newport leads the nation in total home runs, blasting 25 so far this year. The power surge has been led by sophomore Nicholas Baham, who ranks fourth nationally with six round-trippers. Senior A.J. Nicely, with three home runs, also leads the team in batting average with a .385 mark while ranking second in RBI with 20. 

On the mound, rookie Thomas Packert (4-0, 1.56 ERA) and senior Michael Thomas (4-1, 1.93 ERA) lead a group that has posted a 3.14 team ERA this year. Packert surrendered his first extra-base hit of the season on Wednesday, and is holding opponents to a astounding .115 batting average against. Thomas has 40 strikeouts in 42 innings of work, ranking in the top five in the CAC this season. 

St. Mary's (Md.) has been led by Zach Thompson (3-1, 3.38 ERA) on the hill, striking out 39 batters in 37.1 innings of work. As a team, the Seahawks have a 5.40 ERA while hitting .238. The offense features Jay Hammett, hitting .327 with a team-high 11 RBI.