SALISBURY, Md. -- The sixth-ranked Salisbury Sea Gulls (25-4) won the 2021 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday after defeating the second-seeded Christopher Newport Captains by a final score of 20-4.

With the win, Salisbury secures the league's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division III Baseball Championships, which begins on May 27. Following the loss, the Captains overall record dropped to 22-12. 

The first inning saw both teams trade four-inning frames as the starting pitchers looked to be in trouble from the outset. Xavier Marmol (3-0) settled in for the Sea Gulls after the big inning, though, and wound up throwing a complete game in the championship series for the win. He allowed just the four runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts. 

After allowing four in the top of the first, CNU (playing as the home team in the contest), answered with four runs on five hits in the bottom of the first. Conner Clark led off with an infield single and moved up when Jonathan Fisher ripped a hard groundball through the left side. Eric O'Brien moved the runners up 90 feet with a groundout and Kyle Schofield delivered the Captains' first run with an RBI groundout to first. 

That would bring up Jay Cassady with two outs and the freshman continued his stellar first season with an RBI single to third. Fellow All-Conference selection Scott Crosson was up next and the freshman outfielder delivered a picture-perfect bunt for a single. After the inning was extended by an error, Alec Reilly worked a bases loaded walk to bring in another run, bringing up Brayden Hodges as the Captains sent all nine batters to the plate in the first inning. Hodges added the Captains fourth infield single in the inning, chasing home Crosson for the game-tying run. 

Unfortunately for CNU, that would be all the offense could muster against Marmol. He faced the minimum number of batters into the ninth inning, allowing just one single until the last. That single, smoked into right field by Fisher for his second hit of the day, was promptly erased with a double play. 

The final hit of the outing for CNU came off the bat of freshman infielder Dnaiel Elliott. The rookie stepped in with two out in the bottom of the ninth and laced a hard shot into left field. He then ripped off a steal for the Captains in a last-ditch effort to start a late rally. 

Fisher was 2-for-4 with a run scored to lead the offense. On the mound, six different pitchers saw action for the young CNU squad with free passes serving as the biggest obstacle on Saturday. The Captains' pitching staff issued eight walks and hit seven batters in the contest. Matt Gaither and Jack Braley each struck out a pair while Colby Shriner added one strikeout for CNU. 

Christopher Newport baseball played ten of their 34 games against nationally-ranked opponents this season, including the two against the Sea Gulls in the C2C Championship series.