SALISBURY, Md. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team will take on 24th-ranked Salisbury University on the road Thursday afternoon in a battle of the top two teams in the Capital Athletic Conference. Both teams are riding double-digit win streaks, as the Captains come in with the nation's longest roll at 18 games and Salisbury has won 10 straight since their last loss, which came to at CNU on March 23. First pitch at the brand new Sea Gull Baseball Stadium is set for 3:30 pm. 

Live stats and video will be available courtesy of the Salisbury University Department of Athletics. Links can be found on the CNU baseball schedule at CNUsports.com. The game will be the first for CNU at the new Sea Gull Baseball Stadium, opened earlier this year. Salisbury leads the all-time series, 42-28. Earlier this season, CNU won 10-3 in Newport News in the first game of the the home-and-home series with the Sea Gulls. 

Christopher Newport is now 26-4 overall, 10-0 in league action while Salisbury is 20-7, 8-2. The Captains have moved up to the top five in both national rankings, while Salisbury fell out earlier this season but has checked back into the D3baseball.com Top 25 this week. 

NCAA Division II program Illinois Springfield is currently carrying a 19-game win streak, marking the only roll in the nation at any NCAA level longer than the Captains' 18-game streak. The program record is a 26-game winning streak during the 2012 season, while CNU's current streak is the second longest. The Captains were perfect in March, going 14-0, and haven't lost a game since February 28 to No. 23 Randolph-Macon. 

All nine starting Captains are hitting .250 or better this season, with seven players hitting over .300. Among them is senior designated hitter Brandon Ginch, who has climbed into the top ten all-time in several career statistical categories. He ranks tied for fourth all-time in career home runs (23), ninth in RBI (116), ninth in total bases (262), ninth in HBP (29), and currently eighth in slugging (.560). This season, Ginch is putting together a career year with personal high's in several statistical categories; he is hitting .388 with 7 HR, 34 RBI and 12 doubles. 

Rookie Conner Clark is putting together a stellar freshman campaign, with 20 steals and 25 walks while leading the team with 37 runs scored. The stolen bases are second all-time for a freshman at CNU and is one shy of entering the top ten best single season marks in program history.

The Captains' pitching staff has been led by a pair of dominant relievers as sophomore Brian Owens and senior Joe Burris have each made 18 appearances. Burris tied the Capital Athletic Conference record for career appearances with his 68th on Tuesday, and moved into a tie for third all-time at CNU. Owens leads the team with a 1.99 ERA and is tied for second in strikeouts with 51 in 31.2 innings of work. 

Salisbury has been led by Jack Berry, hitting .419, while the team as a whole is hitting .301 this season. Jack Decker is hitting .397 and Justin Meekins is at .380. On the mound, Connor Reeves is 7-2 with a 1.69 ERA while making five starts and 12 appearances this season. Austin Heenan, who CNU defeated earlier this season, is 6-2 with a 1.83 ERA. 

Following Thursday's mid-week conference bout, the Captains will travel on to Frostburg State for a doubleheader in Maryland on Saturday.