UNION, NJ - The Christopher Newport softball squad arrived in New Jersey Wednesday night, and the ninth-ranked Captains are continuing to prepare to open the 2019 NCAA Division III Softball Championship. Keith Parr's squad will hold a practice Thursday afternoon at host site Kean University, and the Captains will then begin play in the double elimination regional Friday afternoon.

CNU, 33-7 this year and Champions of the Capital Athletic Conference, will play the College of Staten Island (18-15) for the first time ever Friday afternoon, with start time set for approximately 4:30 p.m. at Cougar Softball Field. The Captains will play just one game Friday, and will follow the opening game of the regional, a 2:00 p.m. start between host Kean (37-6) and Endicott (32-5).

Play is scheduled to continue on Saturday with three games, and the four-team regional will conclude on Sunday with the title game, with a second battle immediately following if necessary.

The Captains are making their 17th NCAA appearance in the 35-year history of the program, and are 34-32 all-time in NCAA play.  CNU has advanced to 13 straight tournaments, a longer streak than any other currently in DIII, and the Captains have also won at least 30 games in each of the last 13 seasons. Christopher Newport claimed the CAC crown last Saturday with back-to-back victories over Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, just one day after the Eagles beat the Captains in the opening game of the best-of-three final series. 

Christopher Newport features the top home run hitter in the country, freshman infielder Kaitlyn Hasty, who has set a new school record for homers this year with 19. Hasty was named the Player and Rookie of the Year this season in the CAC, just the second student-athlete to receive both honors in the same season. She has also driven in a team-high 58 runs while batting .414.

CNU averages more home runs per game (1.50) than any team in the nation, and the Captains also set a team mark this year with 60 long balls. Keith Parr's squad also boasts the top slugging percentage in the country (.620).

Friday's opponent, the College of Staten Island, captured its seventh consecutive City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) title with a 9-6 victory over top seed Hunter College last Saturday. The Dolphins improved to 18-15 heading into their first meeting ever with CNU on the softball field.

The Cougars of Kean are 17-3 over the last month and reached the New Jersey Athletic Conference final after defeating nationally-ranked Rowan last Saturday. The Cougars received one of 20 at-large bids to the 62-team tournament. CNU is 3-8 all-time vs. the Cougars, and dropped two of three games to Kean two years ago in an NCAA regional in Union.

Endicott (32-5) won its 11th Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) title with a 10-0 victory over the University of New England on Sunday to advance into the NCAA's. CNU has never played the Gulls of Endicott in softball competition. 

You can follow all the action this weekend with live stats and video of all CNU games in Union available at CNUsports.com/watch.