SALISBURY, Md. -- The top two teams in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference will match up with the baseball title and trip to the NCAA Championships on the line. Second-seeded Christopher Newport travels to top-seeded Salisbury for a best-of-three championship series to determine who will wear the 2021 conference crown with the first game slated for 3:00 p.m. on Friday. The second game of the series will be played at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday and, if necessary, the third game immediately following. 

The conference went to a best-of-three format for the first time in 2018 when Salisbury was crowned champion. In 2019, the Captains won the championship series. Now the two will face each other in the conference finals for the first time in this setup and just the second time since Christopher Newport joined the league in 2013-14. 

Fans will be allowed to attend provided they are on Christopher Newport's registration list, controlled by the team's coaching staff. For fans unable to make it to Salisbury in person, live stats and a live video webcast will be available for all the games; links to both can be found on the baseball schedule at CNUsports.com. 

The all-time series favors the Sea Gulls in 79 career matchups, including four head-to-head bouts this season. After Salisbury took three of four during the 2021 regular season, the all-time record now reads 47-32 Salisbury. Over the last 12 matchups dating back to the 2016 season, the teams have split going 6-6 with a nearly-dead even scoring total of 74-71, Captains. 

The Captains advanced to the championship series by winning the first weekend pod against #3 Mary Washington and #4 St. Mary's (Md.). CNU improved to 22-10 overall with the postseason effort. Salisbury held serve at home against #5 Southern Virginia, winning two and improving to 23-4 overall this season. The Sea Gulls are ranked No. 6 in the nation heading into this weekend's play. 

C2C Rookie of the Year Jay Cassady leads the Captains offense and ranks third in the conference with a .367 average. He also ranks third in the league in RBI with 27, tied for second in home runs with four, and boasts the top slugging percentage at .656. Eric O'Brien leads the conference in RBI with 31 and is second on the squad with a .336 average. In his final season, O'Brien has piled up 49 total bases and has scored 25 times. First team All-Conference shortstop Jonathan Fisher has done a splendid job getting on base in front of O'Brien and Cassady and has scored a league-leading 40 times this year. 

On the mound, senior Josh Husby (5-0) has led the way and collected first team All-Conference honors for his efforts. His 2.34 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 50.0 innings pitched has anchored a staff that also includes Dylan Weber (6-2) and Cassady (2-4). Freshman Jack Braley (1-0) has started three games as well, including the clinching win against Mary Washington last weekend.

Salisbury has put together one of the finest seasons in program history, dropping just four games at this point in the season. The offense is hitting .320 with 10.0 runs per game and is led by Conference Player of the Year Justin Meekins. The sixth-year senior is hitting .359 with 28 RBI and a league-leading 5 HR. Meekins also ranks third on the team in stolen bases with 10, helping lead a dangerous group that has stolen 81 bases in 27 games this season. Kavi Caster leads that category for the Sea Gulls, with 17, despite missing eight games to an injury. The leadoff man is back for Salisbury, hitting .403 with 30 runs scored and 25 RBI to go with his 17 swipes. 

Pitching for Salisbury, Conference Pitcher of the Year Clayton Dwyer is 9-0 with one save in 15 appearances. Dwyer has 83 strikeouts in 56.0 innings of work and a 1.29 ERA. Sophomore Jackson Balzan is 6-1 with 63 K in 45.2 innings of work and reliever Xavier Marmol has tossed in three of the four contests against CNU this season. Marmol is one of three relievers with 12 or more appearances and a sub-2.00 ERA. 

The team who captures the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference crown will earn the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Championships, set to begin with regional play on May 27.