NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- A pair of organizations released their annual All-Region selections on Tuesday with D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) announcing the honorees. In both, Christopher Newport secured a pair of certificates including first team accolades for both Justin Bowers (1B) and Daniel Elliott (UTIL) from D3baseball.com. Bowers was named a second team ABCA All-Region pick and Elliott earned third team laurels from the coaches. 

Bowers joins Nicholas Baham as the only first basemen in program history to earn the D3baseball.com All-Region certificate while Elliott is the first CNU player to earn the nod as a Utility player. Elliott started 36 games at second base and also served as the team's closer. The duo join a group of 19 players prior to earn All-Region honors and a select group of just twelve former Captains to earn First Team All-Region plaudits. 

The All-Region teams released by D3baseball.com has been honoring the nation's top players since 2012. This year marks the fifth time in the ten All-Region announcements that Christopher Newport has registered two or more in a single year. 

The ABCA honors continue a storied tradition that has seen Christopher Newport collect at least one plaque in 18 seasons dating back to 1982. Since 2008, CNU has picked up multiple ABCA All-Region honors in eight seasons including this year's tandem of Bowers and Elliott. Bowers joins previously mentioned Baham and Gary Malarkey (1990) as the only first baseman in program history to garner ABCA All-Region honors; Elliott is only the second Utility honored joining teammate Jay Cassady from last season.

After transferring to Christopher Newport from Division I N.C. Central, Justin Bowers made an immediate impact on the Captains' lineup in historic fashion. The newcomer shattered the Captains' single season record for slugging percentage with an .851 mark, ranking ninth in Division III in 2022. He also reached base at a .532 clip, ranking third-best in program history, to set a new CNU record for OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.383 -- that bests Tab Pabst's long-standing record of 1.334 set in 1991. 

This season, Bowers quickly worked his way into the lineup with extra-base hits in five of his first six starts. He raised his average to as high as .468 fifteen games into the year and led the team in hitting throughout the campaign. Bowers finished hitting .364 and led the team in virtually every statistical category including runs scored (40), runs batted in (42), doubles (13), triples (2), homers (14), and total bases (103). He walked a team-high 34 times and was hit-by-pitch 13 times while adding four stolen bases for good measure. Defensively, he played multiple positions including third base and left field, but was the primary target at first base throughout the season. He posted a .989 fielding percentage in 189 total chances with just two errors. 

His 14 long balls were the second most in a season in 20 seasons -- only Baham, the all-time leader with 19, has posted more home runs in a single season since 2003 when Matt Turner hit 15. Overall, Bowers' powerful run at the plate ranks fourth all-time, tied with Chris Phaup's 2002 season. 

Playing less than 90 feet to his right for the majority of the campaign was CNU's other first team All-Region selection in sophomore Daniel Elliott. Elliott was one of the team's best players both on the mound and at the plate as the switch hitter ranked second on the team with a .336 average in 36 starts this year. In relief, Elliott was 4-0 with 8 saves and a 2.20 ERA to anchor the bullpen. 

Right from the start of the season, Elliott proved to be a tough out for opposing pitchers. He logged seven multi-hit games in his first 13 games of the year, including a 4-for-5 effort against Roanoke that saw him drive in a season-high five runs. During the season, Elliott reached base a team-high 17 games in a row and never allowed his batting average to dip below .328. The toughest Captain regular to strikeout, Elliott whiffed only 14 times compared to 17 walks. 

While he was difficult to strikeout himself, he consistently made opponents go down on strikes throughout the season. He also pounded the zone, limiting walks, and ranked fourth in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio with a 15.25 mark. His 0.89 WHIP ranks tenth in the country and his eight saves were 14th best in Division III. Elliott finished the year ranked in the top-40 nationally in ERA with a 2.20 mark and second only to Region Pitcher of the Year Jimmy Adkins in the conference. 

For the Captains, Elliott logged top-ten marks for ERA, lowest opponent batting average, fewest walks allowed per nine inning game, and most strikeouts per nine. His eight saves are tied for the third best single season mark in CNU history while moving him up to sixth all-time in career saves. 

The two All-Region performers helped lead Christopher Newport back to the NCAA Tournament for the tenth time in program history. The Captains finished the year 27-14 after reaching the regional finals for the fifth time.