NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- For the first time since 2011, the Christopher Newport baseball team will take the field as the top-ranked team in the nation when they play host to the University of Mary Washington (6-9, 1-4) for a three-game conference series starting at 3:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The Captains (17-2, 6-0) will host a single game on Friday and then a doubleheader against the Eagles starting at Noon on Saturday, March 30. 

In addition to being freshly minted the No. 1 team in the nation by D3baseball.com, the Captains are riding an eight-game winning streak heading into the weekend's play. CNU is 10-2 in home games this season and 6-0 in conference play. Against Mary Washington, CNU owns a 15-9 all-time advantage in the series, including a 7-3 mark in regular season matchups since joining the CAC in 2014. 

All three games will be presented live online in a video webcast alongside live stats available at CNUsports.com. Links can be found on the baseball schedule at CNUsports.com. 

CNU ran it's win streak to eight with a dominating conference sweep at St. Mary's (Md.) last weekend, outscoring the Seahawks by a final count of 50-3. Sophomore Conner Clark stole eight bases last week to take over the national lead in the category. He is also among the team's leaders in nearly every statistical category, hitting .400 with 29 runs scored, 24 RBI and a .480 on-base percentage. In the three-game sweep, senior Seth Woodard smacked five hits with a home run and 5 RBI and 5 runs scored. For the year, Woodard is hitting .329 with 21 walks and 22 hits. 

The offense has been led by a host of Captains depending on the day, including senior Nicholas Baham, among the national leaders in home runs with six and RBI with 27. Senior Joseph Cutchins is hitting .500 in 36 at-bats off the bench, with five extra-base hits and 17 RBI; senior Ryan Grubbs is hitting .487 as the team's primary catcher, while reaching base at an absurd .661 clip. 

On the mound, relievers Tyler Jumper (3-0, 0.00 ERA) and Brian Owens (1-0, 1.29 ERA) have led the team in appearances with 21 combined. Senior Austin Slough (1-0, 1.54 ERA) has also been stellar in his final season in nine appearances. Iin the rotation, sophomore Josh Husby (4-1, 3.31 ERA) is likely to make his team-leading seventh start of the season, while Teddy Herbert (4-1, 4.88 ERA) and Nathan Clements (2-0, 5.59 ERA) have helped limit the relievers innings. 

Mary Washington picked up a marquee victory in the season opener with an 8-0 shutout over Methodist, now ranked in the top-25 nationally. After starting 3-1, though, the Eagles lost eight of their next nine games before bouncing back with back-to-back victories heading into this weekend. Mary Washington defeated Southern Virginia, 15-5, and Roanoke, 7-6, in their last two contests. Senior Stephen Johnson leads the team with 15 RBI and 2 home runs while junior Garrett Lyons is hitting a team-best .397 with 10 extra-base hits. 

Following the weekend's three-game conference series, CNU will host Marymount University on Wednesday, April 3 at 3:00 pm.