NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Christopher Newport University softball team is off to a 3-1 start to the 2018 season, and the Captains have moved up to 11th in the new national poll from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). CNU was ranked 14th in the pre-season poll from the NFCA.

The Captains are en route to Tucson, Arizona, where they will play six games this weekend in the NFCA's Leadoff Classic. CNU will open play on Friday at 12:00 p.m. (ET) against 24th-ranked Babson College. Keith Parr's squad will then tangle with 21st-ranked Central College at approximately 2:30 p.m. (ET).

On Saturday, CNU plays the University of Rochester at 5:00 p.m. (ET). The Captains then take on 22nd-ranked George Fox with game time set for approximately 7:30 p.m. (ET)

The Leadoff Classic will conclude on Sunday in Tucson with two more games as CNU plays Otterbein at 4:00 p.m. (ET) and then 13th-ranked East Texas Baptist at approximately 6:30 p.m. (ET).

Christopher Newport has opened the season with a doubleheader split with 16th-ranked Randolph-Macon and a twin bill sweep of Division II Davis & Elkins. CNU pitching has allowed just three runs, and only two earned, in the first four games.

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