BUENA VISTA, Va. -- After adding to the second longest win streak in program history, the Christopher Newport baseball team moved up in both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3baseball.com national rankings this week. The Captains (22-4, 6-0) will travel to Southern Virginia University on Wednesday for Capital Athletic Conference action, freshly minted a top five team in the ABCA.
The Captains moved up two spots in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Division III Poll, moving up to No. 5 in this week's ratings. The team received 408 points in the weekly rankings while Rowan held onto the top spot. In the D3baseball.com Top 25, CNU slid up two slots as well, now ranked No. 7 in the nation. The Captains grabbed 456 points in the poll as Trinity (Texas) maintained its position at the top of the ranking.
CNU is riding the second longest win streak in program history with 14 straight after a perfect run through the month of March. The Captains have climbed higher in this year's poll than they have ranked since the 2013 season, when CNU climbed to No. 4 in the nation.
Last week, the Captains went 4-0 including a 3-0 mark in conference action. Leading that effort was sophomore reliever
Brian Owens, who earned two wins and a three-inning save while appearing in all four outings. This week, the sophomore southpaw was particularly scintillating, retiring all but three batters he faced in 8.0 innings of relief. He struck out 11 batters, including 10 against conference opponents, without issuing a free pass. He allowed only one run on three hits, posting a 1.13 ERA for the week. Owens has been one of the top options out of the pen all season for CNU, leading the team with 15 appearances. The second year reliever has a team-best 1.65 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 27.1 innings pitched. He's only walked eight and hit one batter while holding opponents to a batting average against of .121.
Owens has pitched in front of senior
Joe Burris all season, who ranks ninth nationally in saves with five. Burris also ranks eighth nationally with Owens after appearing in 15 games already this season. The veteran reliever has a 2.55 ERA over 17.2 innings of work with 21 strikeouts.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Captains are among the most dangerous lineups in the country, ranking fifth nationally in home runs per game. CNU is fourth in the country in runs scored and is averaging 8.96 runs per game this season. Eight starters are hitting .296 or better, led by junior third baseman
Seth Woodard and his .404 average. Woodard leads the team in RBI (38) and extra-base hits, including 12 doubles and 5 home runs. Rookie outfielder
Conner Clark is hitting .320 in his first year with a team-high 32 runs scored while also terrorizing the basepaths with 18 steals in 20 attempts, ranking 10th nationally.
Southern Virginia is 10-11 to start the year with a 2-4 mark in conference play. The Knights have hit a slide after starting the year 8-7, dropping four of their last six games, all in conference play. Two of those losses came by just oen run, while a third was an extra-inning setback to nationally-ranked Frostburg State. Sophomore Cole Critchfield has driven in a team-high 16 runs while hitting .329 for the Knights. Senior starters Tayler Peterson (3-1) and Seth Burris (2-2) lead the way, while rookie Jonathan Soto (2-2) has also started four games for Southern Virginia.
Following Wednesday's matchup in Buena Vista, the Captains will return home for a CAC doubleheader on Saturday, April 7 against Marymount University.
American Baseball Coaches Assn.
Baseball Poll
(As of April 3, 2018)
| Rank |
Team (2018 Record) |
Points |
PVS |
| 1. |
Rowan, NJ (15-2) |
474 |
1 |
| 2. |
Trinity, TX (19-2) |
470 |
2 |
| 3. |
Concordia-Chicago, IL (14-4) |
421 |
4 |
| 4. |
Roanoke, VA (19-3) |
409 |
6 |
| 5. |
Christopher Newport, VA (22-4) |
408 |
7 |
| 6. |
Wisc.-Whitewater (8-2) |
397 |
3 |
| 7. |
Randolph-Macon, VA (16-3-1) |
379 |
8 |
| 8. |
Wooster, OH (11-3) |
329 |
12 |
| 9. |
Massachusetts-Boston (13-5) |
325 |
5 |
| 10. |
College of New Jersey (12-2) |
321 |
14 |
| 14 |
Redlands, CA (24-7) |
314 |
10 |
| 12. |
Texas Lutheran (21-6) |
302 |
9 |
| 13. |
Case Western Reserve, OH (16-3) |
299 |
13 |
| 14. |
Methodist, NC (22-6) |
272 |
11 |
| 15. |
Cortland St., NY (16-6) |
269 |
15 |
| 16. |
La Roche, PA (13-4) |
198 |
16 |
| 17. |
Maryville, TN (26-5) |
190 |
19 |
| 18. |
Spalding, KY (17-3) |
187 |
21 |
| 19. |
Marietta, OH (12-4) |
176 |
18 |
| 20. |
Oswego St., NY (11-5) |
174 |
20 |
| 21. |
Franklin, IN (17-1) |
103 |
RV |
| 22. |
Wisc.-Oshkosh (13-2) |
85 |
RV |
| 23. |
Endicott, MA (9-3) |
80 |
23 |
| 24. |
Chapman, CA (20-8) |
69 |
RV |
| 25. |
Webster, MO (11-6) |
64 |
22 |
| 26. |
Heidelberg, OH (13-4) |
61 |
26 |
| 27. |
Keystone, PA (12-5) |
60 |
RV |
| 28. |
Concordia, TX (19-8) |
58 |
30 |
| 29. |
Rhodes, TN (20-10) |
54 |
RV |
| 30. |
St. John's, MN (14-2) |
51 |
29 |
2018 D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25, Week 6
Through games of Sunday April 1, 2018
