NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Setting up a winner-takes-all matchup at Captains Park, the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport and Salisbury baseball teams are locked in a first-place tie atop the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference standings heading into Saturday afternoon's regular season finale. The 10th-ranked Captains (24-9, 2-1) will host the 5th-ranked Sea Gulls (28-7, 2-1) at 2:00 p.m. with the regular season crown and top seed, plus hosting duties, of next week's conference tournament on the line. 

Admission to regular season games at Captains Park is free of charge and gates will be open two hours prior to first pitch as the conference rivals set up for the final game of the 2024 regular season. For fans unable to attend in person, a live video stream and live stats will be available on CNUsports.com. 

Prior to the action, the Captains will host a special Senior Day ceremony for the Christopher Newport veterans playing in their final home regular season game. A group of eight Captains will be recognized in Jack Anderson, Jack Braley, Scott Crosson, Zach Dzarnowski, Daniel Elliott, Justin Husby, Kyle Lewis, and Colby Shriner. 

The matchup will have far reaching implications as the winning team will earn the 2024 regular season C2C championship and will host the conference tournament next weekend. The C2C Championship will be a single elimination doubleheader on Friday, May 10 with the #2 seed facing #3 Mary Washington at 11:00 a.m. before the top-seed faces the winner for the 2024 C2C Championship at approximately 2:30 p.m. Additionally, the matchup will be another game against a regionally-ranked opponent for both Salisbury and CNU as the teams look to improve their resume for postseason consideration by the NCAA. 

In the first game between the two teams this season Salisbury captured an 18-3 win at home against CNU and improved to 55-33 all-time against the Captains. In Newport News, CNU owns a winning record against the Sea Gulls with a 21-18 all-time mark in the series. 

Heading into Saturday, CNU is coming off a loss at Randolph-Macon but had won five of the previous six games before that setback. The offense has been dynamic, putting up double-digit run totals in all five of those wins, including an 11-0 shutout at Mary Washington that set up the regular season title game on Saturday. Salisbury has been red-hot, winning seven of the last eight with the lone loss also coming at the hands of Randolph-Macon. 

Christopher Newport will likely start fifth-year senior Dylan Weber (7-1, 1.55 ERA) against the Sea Gulls after he combined with two relievers for a three-hit shutout in his last outing against Mary Washington. This season, Weber has put together one of the finest single season efforts in program history and ranks third in Division III in strikeouts, with 96, and ninth in earned-run average. The veteran starter has surrendered more than two runs in a game only twice this season in 13 appearancesand has kept his ERA under 2.00 for the duration of the campaign. 

Waiting in the wings will be a dominant bullpen that has continued to put together an exceptional season as a group in 2024. The relievers have combined for 142 strikeouts in 116.2 innings pitched with nine saves and seven wins while boasting a 3.86 ERA as a team. Leading the charge are senior All-Region closer Kyle Lewis (3-0, 0.86 ERA) with five saves and 34 K in 21.0 innings pitched and senior Danny Checkosky (1-1, 3.07 ERA) with 13 appearances this year. 

At the plate, the Captains are reaching base at a .421 clip to rank as the fifth-highest rate in program history. Josh Reinhold leads the squad by reaching base at a .476 rate and is also the team-leader in hitting with a .371 average in his sophomore season. Reinhold also leads the team in runs scored, with 40, and total bases, with 73. While Reinhold has excelled in getting on base, Lincoln Lubsen has been the team's leader in driving runners in witha  team-best 45 RBI in his first year with the Captains. Lubsen leads the team in doubles (11) and home runs (7) while hitting .333 in 32 starts this year. 

Salisbury ranks third in the nation in OBP wih a .453 mark as a unit and is one of the nation's top offenses in 2024 as they rank 11th in Division III with 9.5 runs per game. The Sea Gulls are led by the Division III leader in hitting as Andrew Kell leads the country with a .538 average and ranks second with a .622 OBP. Adding pop, Kell ranks fifth in slugging with an .885 percentage with 22 extra-base hits this year. Veteran Tim Petrucelli is hitting .382 with 27 extra-base hits including a team-high 11 home runs to help anchor the middle of the Salisbury lineup. On the mound, nine different Salisbury pitchers have a start this season as the C2C foe has mixed it up in the rotation. In the bullpen, Shawn Rosemond is one of the top relievers with 17 appearances and a 1.93 ERA. 

Following Saturday's game, the Captains will focus its attention on the postseason with next Friday's C2C Conference Championship the next date on the schedule.