UPDATE: Schedule has been adjusted due to forecasted rain on Saturday. Friday will now be three games, with CNU set to take on Mary Washington at 9:00 AM. 

SALISBURY, Md. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team is set to open play at the 2023 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Baseball Championships this weekend, starting with the first game on Friday against #3 seed Mary Washington. First pitch will be thrown out by the second-seeded Captains at 9:00 a.m. with all the action being hosted by top-seeded Salisbury University. 

The Captains (31-8) will face the Eagles (27-13) in game one of the tournament at Donnie Williams Sea Gulls Baseball Stadium. The losing team will advance to take on the top-seeded Salisbury squad immediately following for the right to advance to Saturday's action. 

Admission to the 2023 championship is free of charge, but fans are encouraged to register their vehicles for parking on the campus of Salisbury University. For directions, facility information, parking regulations, and more, visit the Salisbury Tournament Website. 

On Saturday, the schedule will be determined by how many teams remain in the double-elimination format. Game times will be determined by the games committee after addressing the potential impact of the weather.  

All tournament games will feature live stats and a live video webcast on a busy weekend in Salisbury, Md. as the Sea Gulls will also be hosting the C2C Softball Championship along with first and second round action of the NCAA Men's and Women's Lacrosse Championship. Links to the live coverage can be found on the tournament website or the baseball schedule at CNUsports.com. 

Christopher Newport last captured the conference title in 2019 and has won six conference championships all time, all coming under the direction of 2023 C2C Coach of the Year John Harvell. Harvell secured his 600th career win earlier this season and guided the Captains to 30 wins in a season for just the seventh time in program lore. 

Leading the way has been a dominant pitching staff that features 2023 C2C Pitcher of the Year Dylan Weber and first team All-Conference reliever Kyle Lewis. The staff ranks seventh nationally in ERA with a 3.23 team mark and fifth in the country in strikeouts per nine innings at 10.2. Limiting base runners has been key, ranking ninth in the country in WHIP with a 1.25 mark and allowing only 7.58 hits per nine, ranking fifth best in Division III. Weber is 7-2 with a career-best 88 strikeouts over 62.1 innings pitched. Lewis leads the league in total appearances, with 21, and boasts a 2.25 ERA over 28.0 innings pitched. 

Offensively, the Captains are hitting .319 as a team led by a talented group of newcomers including leading hitter Ayden Stuffel (.375), C2C Rookie of the Year Josh Reinhold (.357), and sophomore catcher Zach Dzarnowski (.356). CNU has belted 26 home runs this season, with eight coming off the bat of Justin Bowers and six more by Alec Reilly, who was named the conference player of the week for the second time this week. 

CNU has also excelled defensively, posting the second best fielding percentage as a team in program history with just 41 errors in nearly 1,400 total chances. The Captains rank in the top-25 nationally in fielding including an impressive run by the two starting catchers, combining for just one error in exactly 400 chances this season. Senior Drew Caroline has not made a mis-step in 116 chances while Dzarnowski has only one error in 284 chances behind the plate. 

Christopher Newport and Mary Washington will be matching up for the 44th time in the all-time series history, with the Captains owning a 33-10 advantage in the matchup. CNU has won eight straight against the Eagles including an 11-2 win at home this year and a 5-2 victory in Northern Virginia. 

Mary Washington features eight All-Conference players while posting a 27-13 overall record. The Eagles have tied for the most wins in a season since 2010 when they last won the conference championship. Mary Washington is led offensively by junior Ty Lowe, driving in 44 runs while pacing the attack with a .358 average. Brendan McComber is 8-1 with a one save in 13 appearances on the mound for the Eagles over 57.2 innings pitched.