NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- This weekend a pair of the nation's top Division III baseball teams will face off twice in a home-and-home series starting with a 2:00 p.m. first pitch at Captains Park on Saturday. The 15th-ranked Captains will first host No. 7 Lynchburg (21-5) before traveling to Lynchburg on Sunday for a second game against the Hornets on Sunday.
Both teams have been moving up in the national rankings over the last several weeks with Christopher Newport now No. 15 in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball poll and No. 24 in the NCBWA/D3baseball.com national rankings. Lynchburg is ranked as high as No. 5 on the D3baseball.com list while also being pegged No. 7 in the ABCA rankings.
Admission to the nationally-ranked showdown on Saturday is free of charge. Fans unable to attend the matchup live at Captains Park can tune into follow the game live online with live stats and a video webcast available at CNUsports.com.
Christopher Newport is coming off a 5-3 win over Methodist on Wednesday afternoon and has now won nine of their last ten games. Lynchburg enters the weekend having won six of seven with a 9-3 victory over Virginia Wesleyan in their last matchup on Wednesday. The all-time series between the two programs is knotted at six wins apiece; last year, they Captains and Hornets split the home-and-home with each team winning the game on the road.
Both teams feature strong pitching so far this season with Christopher Newport ranking 12th and Lynchburg slotting in at 15th in team ERA. The Captains are led by
Jay Cassady (6-1) and
Dylan Weber (3-1) in the rotation, posting sub-3.00 ERA's to this point in the season. Cassady ranks second in the nation in strikeouts on a record-breaking pace for the Captains starters over his first 46.0 IP. Out of the bullpen,
Daniel Elliott leads the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio after fanning 48 with just a pair of free passes for a 24.0 ratio. He leads the team with a 0.90 ERA while going 2-0 with 5 saves so far this season.
Elliott is also helping to lead the offense, hitting .394 with 20 RBI and 15 runs scored.
Justin Bowers is hitting .392 with 20 extra-base hits while driving in a team-high 27 runs and scoring 26 times.
Scott Crosson leads the nation in sacrifice flies and is right behind Bowers with a .366 average, 25 RBI and 25 runs scored.
Lynchburg will counter the Captains with a pitching staff that has a 3.55 ERA so far this season. Sophomore Nick Mattfield (4-0) has led the rotation with a 2.78 ERA, striking out 35 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched. In the bullpen, senior Grayson Thurman is among the national leads with 62 strikeouts in 35.0 innings pitched while leading the country with eight saves. Offensively, Avery Neaves leads the Hornets with a .422 average with 30 RBI and 30 runs scored.
Following the weekend's action, Christopher Newport will host Southern Virginia University at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, April 13.
