SALISBURY, Md. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team is back in action this weekend, traveling to second-ranked Salisbury University (26-4) on Saturday for Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference action. The Captains (30-7) are ranked as high as No. 7 in the nation and will take on the first pitch from the Sea Gulls at 12:00 p.m.
In addition to preparing to take on Salisbury on Saturday, head coach
John Harvell also announced that Sunday's game scheduled to be played against the Sea Gulls at home has been postponed. The new game time for the regular season finale is Wednesday, May 3 at 3:00 p.m.
Live stats and a live video webcast will be available with links at CNUsports.com.
The matchup will be a top-ten showdown between two of the top teams in the nation. Both were listed among the first NCAA Regional Rankings released earlier this week and are among the top-ten in both national polls. Saturday's matchup is the latest chapter in a long-standing rivalry, marking the 86th game in the all-time series.
The Captains have won six straight games and 13 of the last 14 on the season to reach 30 wins for the seventh time in program history. The pitching staff has led the way with junior
Jack Braley (4-0, 1.19 ERA) ranking seventh nationally in earned-run average and senior
Dylan Weber (6-2, 3.58 ERA) ranking 12th in Division III in strikeouts with 76.
Offensively, Christopher Newport has one of the most disciplined teams in the nation rankings second in the country in total walks led by a standout first year from transfer catcher
Zach Dzarnowski, who ranks sixth overall with 37. He also ranks third on the team with a .358 average, tied with
Ayden Stuffel and behind
Scott Crosson (.362) and
Josh Reinhold (.361). Senior
Justin Bowers has blasted a team-best seven home runs and has driven in 34 runs for the Captains while senior
Alec Reilly has a team-high 35 RBI.
Salisbury is coming off just it's fourth loss of the season, falling at Penn State Harrisburg, 8-2, on April 23. That ended a 14-game winning streak that saw the Sea Gulls pile up 26 total wins this year. The C2C foe leads the nation in scoring (11.8 runs per game) and has showed off a well-rounded squad ranking second nationally in fielding percentage and in the top-30 in ERA and WHIP.
Veterans Luke Weddell, Kavi Caster, Cameron Hyder, and Jimmy Adkins have returned to lead the way for the Sea Gulls. Adkins ranks eighth nationally in K/BB ratio with an 8.33 mark while also posting a sub-3.00 ERA for the season. Offensively, Caster is scoring nearly a run and a half per game while Weddell leads the nation in sacrifice bunts.
