HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. -- The first NCAA Regional trip for the Christopher Newport baseball team since 2012 is set to begin on Thursday night, as the Captains, ranked 11th in the final regular season ABCA national rankings, take on No. 20 Denison University at 7:00 pm at Ting Park in Holly Springs, N.C. The matchup is game three of the NCAA South Regional, a six-team double-elimination bracket with games set to begin at 11:00 am on Thursday morning.  

The Captains are making the program's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance while the Big Red of Denison University are making the first Regional appearance in program history. The teams have matching 32-10 records and featured their league's respective Player and Coach of the Year winners. For the Captains, junior Seth Woodard and head coach John Harvell garnered the postseason accolades for the Capital Athletic Conference; and the North Coast Atlantic Conference (NCAC) honored Tanner Johnson and Mike Deegan as the Player and Coach of the Year after one of the best years in program history.  

With heavy rainfall predicted for the next several days in the local area, fans are encouraged to follow @CNUathletics on Twitter for the most readily available updates to game schedule changes. Thursday's opening round will feature top-seeded Randolph-Macon College taking on #6-seed LaGrange College at 11:00 am followed by a 3:00 pm start between #2-seed The College of New Jersey taking on #5 seed Alvernia College. The Captains, as the #4 seed, will serve as the visiting team in the late game against #3 Denison. 

The winning team will advance to play in Friday's night game, also scheduled for 7:00 pm, against the winner of game two. The losing team in the CNU-Denison matchup will face the winner of the first game on Friday at 11:00 am. After Friday's elimination games, the schedule for the weekend will be determined by how many teams remain.

All games will be played at Ting Park with live stats and a live video webcast available online. Links to both can be found at CNUsports.com. Ticket prices, parking information and more can be found on the NCAA South Regional Tournament Website here: http://gopeacepacers.com/sports/2018/5/11/ncaa-baseball-south-regional-tournament.aspx

The Captains are led by five All-Conference selections with three offensive players and two pitchers picking up All-League recognition.  Woodard is hitting .396 with 63 RBI and 55 runs scored, while seniors Brandon Ginch and Craig Johnson also earned All-CAC honors. Ginch ranks second on the team with a .372 average while smacking eight home runs with 42 RBI; Johnson is hitting .309 with 40 RBI and 41 runs scored. On the mound, Thomas Packert and Joe Burris each earned first team All-CAC honors. As a starter, Packert has struck out 88 batters with an 8-1 record in 13 games and 12 starts. Burris has appeared in 25 games as the Captains' closer, striking out 36 in 30.1 innings of work. 

Denison is led by NCAC Player of the Year Tanner Johnson, who became just the second Big Red player to earn the league's top honor. He is hitting .390 with 57 runs scored and 53 RBI. He has added 25 stolen bases at the top of the Denison attack. On the mound, Perley Provost earned NCAC Pitcher of the Year honors after registering 10 wins with 44 strikeouts and a 2.49 ERA.