FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Due to the expectation of poor weather on Saturday, head coach
John Harvell announced a change to the weekend schedule as the Christopher Newport baseball team will now play a doubleheader at Methodist University on Sunday. The first pitch of the twin bill is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.
The Captains will put a six-game winning streak on the line when they travel to North Carolina to take on the Monarchs with a 16-7 overall record. Methodist is 15-17 after a 20-1 seven-inning victory at Mary Baldwin on Tuesday. As former conference opponents, the Captains and Monarchs have matched up 93 times in the all-time series dating back to 1982 with the latter owning a decided advantage. Over the last ten matchups, Christopher Newport has posted a 7-3 record.
CNU is coming off a 9-4 win at Lynchburg on Tuesday afternoon to extend the team's win streak to six. The Captains have scored 58 runs during the spurt for an average of 9.7 per game. CNU leads the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference in hits and runs scored while ranking second in scoring and ERA this year.
Rookie
Jay Cassady is leading the offense while hitting .379 with 10 extra-base hits and 20 RBI. The first baseman is slugging .655 with five straight multi-hit games; 15 of his 20 RBI have come in the last week. Senior catcher
Eric O'Brien is leading the team in RBI with 24 while ranking second in hitting with a .348 average.
On the mound,
Josh Husby (5-0) has a 1.76 ERA over seven starts while striking out 43 batters in 46.0 innings of work. Cassady also has a pair of wins on the mound to add to his offensive weaponry, striking out 31 in 27.0 IP. Sophomore
Jack Rosenberg (1-0, 2 SV) has been a top option out of the bullpen with 19 strikeouts in 9.0 innings of work while rookie
Matt Gaither also has a pair of saves and a couple wins over 14.1 innings pitched.
Methodist is playing it's usual brand of baseball in 2021, ranking third nationally in sacrifice bunts and tenth in stolen bases. The Monarchs are led by Jacob Austin, son of long-time head coach Tom Austin, hitting .409 with 15 RBI, 16 runs scored and eight extra-base hits. Rob Wilkerson is hitting .385 with 30 RBI and 30 runs scored while smacking a team-high four home runs.
Live stats will be available for both games, provided by Methodist University. Following the action on Sunday, Christopher Newport will host Salisbury University in conference action on Wednesday, April 28 at 3:00 p.m.
