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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- In a nationally-ranked showdown at Captains Park, the No. 22 Christopher Newport baseball team will host the defending national champion Salisbury University Sea Gulls (22-7) in a Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader Saturday. First pitch of the first game against the No. 21 Sea Gulls will be tossed out at Noon. 

Both teams have been featured in both of the Division III national rankings this season, with Salisbury pegged No. 10 in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 this week. The Captains slipped out of the D3baseball.com poll this week, but remain the first team in the others receiving votes category. 

Admission to the anticipated conference matchup is free of charge with the gates opening an hour prior to first pitch. For fans unable to attend in person, live stats and a live video webcast will be available at CNUsports.com. Links to both can be found on the baseball schedule or at the top of this page. 

This weekend's twin bill will be the first of four games played against Salisbury in the regular season as the two teams will close the regular season on May 7 in a doubleheader in Maryland. After the home-and-home series is complete, the Captains' and Sea Gulls will face at least once more in the C2C Tournament, hosted at the No. 1 seed from May 13-15. Last season, the two teams matched up six times as Salisbury was on its march to the national championship, with Christopher Newport dropping a pair of 7-5 decisions at Captains Park. 

Prior to 2021, the Captains had won four of the last five at home against the Sea Gulls and now own a 20-16 advantage all-time in Newport News. Salisbury leads the all-time series, 49-32. 

Christopher Newport is coming off a 17-5 throttling of Bridgewater College on Thursday, led by a 2 HR, 6-RBI performance by Justin Bowers. With two more round-trippers, Bowers now has a team-high 10 on the season and sits just outside the top-ten in single season performances at CNU. With one more blast, Bowers would tie Mike Houston (1986), Greg Mears (1993), and Seth Woodard (2019) for tenth all-time in CNU lore. Bowers is also leading the offense with 33 RBI and 31 runs scored while hitting .372 through the first 29 games of the season. 

The only Captain with a higher average this season has been Daniel Elliott, hitting .398 with 40 total bases. Elliott has also been a catalyst for one of the top pitching staffs in the nation, coming out of the pen in 14 games this season. He has a team-best 0.87 ERA with a 2-0 record and a perfect 6-for-6 in save opportunities. Elliott has struck out 48 batters paired with just two walks this season. Also leading the way in the rotation are Jay Cassady (6-2) and Dylan Weber (3-2), combining for 132 strikeouts over 92.1 innings pitched. Cassady has been on a breakneck pace with 74 K in 51.0 IP to rank in the top-ten nationally in wins and strikeouts. Weber is one punchout shy of his career high with 58 so far this season. 

Salisbury will counter with a top pitching staff of their own, led by veterans Jimmy Adkins and Jackson Balzan. Adkins has a team-best 0.62 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 29.0 IP; Balzan is 6-1 with 57 K in 51.1 IP and a 2.10 ERA. As a staff, the Sea Gulls have a 2.82 ERA , ranking second in the nation while leading the country in hits allowed per game. Offensively, the conference rivals are fourth in the country in doubles, eighth in runs scored, and third in stolen bases. Junior Kavi Caster is pacing the attack with a .432 average, six HR, 38 RBI, 46 runs scored, and 21 stolen bases. 

Following Saturday's matchup, the Captains will host Washington and Lee on Tuesday, April 19 at 3:00 pm.