YORK, Pa. -- Looking to continue the nation's second longest active winning streak in Division III, the No. 7/9 Christopher Newport baseball team will hit the road again this weekend, traveling to face York College of Pennsylvania for a Capital Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday. The Captains (20-4, 4-0) will take on the hard-hitting Spartans of York College (8-6-1, 1-0) looking to extend a 12-game winning streak, second only to Roanoke College with a 13-game spurt.
The first pitch will be thrown at 12:00 pm with the second game following approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
The Captains rank high in the nation in several offensive and defensive categories, including fourth nationally in total runs scored with 212. The potent CNU lineup is hitting .310 as a team and leads the league in runs this season. The Captains rank second nationally in total doubles, led by junior
Seth Woodard's 12, while also ranking 10th in home runs, with 19.The lineup has been patient all season, working 142 walks to rank third nationally behind Piedmont's nationwide leading 154 for the year.
On the other side of the field, the Captains defense is putting together one of it's finest seasons in recent memory and currently ranks in the Top-20 nationally in fielding percentage with a .973 mark. That has helped the CNU pitching staff post a 3.01 ERA, ranked 34th nationally, with four shutouts, ranked fourth, and a 3.57 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which ranks ninth.
Individually, senior
Logan Harrelson has led an impressive rotation that includes two freshmen and a sophomore behind him. Harrelson is 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA while sophomore
Thomas Packert is 4-0 with a 3.45 ERA, and rookies
Gray Goodrich (4-1, 3.71 EA) and
Josh Husby (2-0, 3.68 ERA) round out the front-end starters. In the bullpen, sophomore
Brian Owens and senior
Joe Burris each have 13 appearances to lead the way, striking out a combined 56 batters in 39.0 innings of work.
York comes in with a dangerous lineup that has scored in double figures in five straight games, going 3-1-1 in that stretch. Coming off an 18-18 draw with nationally-ranked Randolph-Macon on Thursday, the Spartans are now hitting .320 as a team with 140 runs scored in 15 games (9.3 runs per game). Grant Oberholtzer leads the way at the top of the lineup with a .415 average, while Jack Barry, Christian Bilan, and Zach Hossler are all hitting .359 or better with at least 21 RBI each.
The Spartan pitching staff has struggled through the first 15 games to the tune of a 5.20 team ERA. After a win against St. Mary's on Wednesday, though, Will Grega is 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA, and Joel Kenney, with a 1-2 record and 3.68 ERA, is a likely starter for York on Saturday.
Live stats and a live video webcast will be available for both games on York (Pa.)'s website, with links to both found on the CNUsports.com schedule page.
