NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The 2019 Capital Athletic Conference Softball Championship Series begins Friday afternoon, as the ninth-ranked Captains of Christopher Newport travel to Fredericksburg to take on the Eagles of Mary Washington. The first game of the best-of-three series will be played Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., with the second game slated for Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. A third game, if necessary, would be played Saturday at approximately noon. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament.

Mary Washington, the top seed, advanced to the final series on Monday by beating York, 10-2 in five innings, to capture the three-team pod in Fredericksburg. The Eagles will bring a 21-17 record into the final against the Captains after going 2-1 in the series last weekend. Christopher Newport, seeded second, won all three games it played in a pod at Captains Park last weekend to start the CAC Tournament. Keith Parr's squad defeated Salisbury and Frostburg State twice to advance. The Captains are 31-6, and have registered at least 30 victories for the 13th consecutive season. CNU is also trying to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th consecutive season.

CNU and Mary Washington met in the final regular-season games for both teams on April 20th, and the Captains and Eagles split a twin bill in Fredericksburg. UMW came from behind to win the opener, 5-3, and the Captains took the nightcap in five innings, 18-1.

The start of the title series will come just one day after CNU dominated post-season honors handed out by the CAC. Freshman Kaitlyn Hasty was selected the Capital Athletic Conference's Player and Rookie of the Year on Thursday, heading a list of ten Captains honored by the league. Hasty has tied a school record for home runs in a season this year with 17. She is presently tied for the lead nationally in home runs, is third in slugging percentage (.981), and is fourth in the country in runs batted in with 56. She was selected first team All-Conference at third base, and led the CAC this year in all three categories.

Junior second baseman Grace Wild received her third straight CAC honor, and after two years on the second team she moved up to first team recognition. Wild led the CAC in hitting this year with a .449 batting average. Sophomore Patty Maye Ohanian was chosen first team for the second straight season at the designated player spot. Ohanian was the Rookie of the Year last year in the league. She hit .438 with seven home runs and 32 runs batted in this spring. Also named to the first team were sophomore outfielder Maddie Hool and freshman first baseman Caroline Helmer. Hool is hitting .333 with four home runs and 20 runs batted in, while Helmer is hitting.319 with three long balls and 17 RBIs. Two CNU starting pitchers were also chosen first team by the CAC. Junior Trish Webb and sophomore Emily Weatherholtz each received their first all-conference accolades. Webb is 8-3 this season with a 1.36 earned run average, while Weatherholtz has compiled a 12-1 record and an ERA of 1.43.

Three Captains were selected second team All-Conference for their efforts this spring. Junior catcher Calah Savage earned her third conference honor in as many years for hitting .304 with two home runs and 15 runs batted in. Sophomore shortstop Natalie Carmichael and freshman outfielder Caitlin Abernethy were also chosen by the conference. Carmichael is batting .327 with a home run and 12 runs batted in, while playing sparkling defense at short for CNU. Abernethy is sporting a .531 average with one home run and ten runs batted in since taking over in the outfield at mid season for the Captains.

Live stats and video of the title series will be available at CNUsports.com/live beginning Friday afternoon just prior to first pitch.