MONTCLAIR, N.J. -- Hitting the road for three games away from Captains Park this weekend, the Christopher Newport baseball team is heading to Montclair State University for three games starting on Friday. First, CNU will take on Swarthmore College (7-9) at 5:00 p.m. on Friday night before facing the host Red Hawks at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 22. The weekend trip will conclude on Sunday afternoon against Lesley University with first pitch scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
The Captains are 11-9 on the season after splitting a two-game set against Oswego State including a 6-5 win in their last game. Christopher Newport was led by
Doc Daniels going 3-for-4 and
Eric Wilson driving in a pair of runs. On the mound,
Ryan Morrison (3-1) picked up the win for the Captains while
Colin D'Arcy secured his first save.
The games in New Jersey will be played at Yogi Berra Stadium with live stats and live video webcasts available online. Links to both can be found on the baseball schedule at CNUsports.com.
The matchups against Swarthmore and Lesley will be the first pairing ever against the Captains. It will also only be the second-ever bout against Montclair State after CNU earned a 3-1 win in the only previous game on March 1, 2014.
The Captains offense features seven starters hitting over .300 through the first 20 games of the year while being led by the only player who has started all 20,
Jake Benedict. The leadoff man is hitting .398 with 33 hits and a team-high 27 runs scored while adding a perfect 8-for-8 record in stolen base attempts. Sophomore
Aaron Maxie is not far behind, hitting .397 over 19 starts with 25 base knocks this season. He also ranks tied for second in RBI with 15 while
Cameron Slough holds the team lead with 17 runs batted in.
On the mound, CNU looks to
Cooper Newell (2-1) and
Jackson Baird (1-1) as the duo has started more than half of the Captains' games so far this season. Baird has a team-best 3.16 ERA while Newell has struck out a team-high 31 batters in 28.0 innings pitched. Both are holding opponents under .200 at the dish with Baird boasting a .186 BAA and Newell allowing a .190 mark. In the bullpen,
Eli Novario and
Marcus Dux have appeared most often with 10 showings and D'Arcy has helped lock down the end of seven games.
Swarthmore is 7-9 but captured a 13-3 win over defending national champion and 17th-ranked Misericordia University earlier this week. The Garnet also had a top-25 win over Case Western Reserve earlier in the season. Aidan Sullivan leads the offense hitting .333 this season with seven extra-base hits.
Montclair State comes into the weekend winners of four straight including a 5-3 victory over No. 9 Salisbury and a 5-4 win against No. 13 Penn State Harrisburg last weekend. The Red Hawks are 11-6 while leaning on the red hot bat of Marcus Johnson. Johnson is hitting .397 with 12 doubles and two home runs while driving in a team-high 21 runs so far.
Finally, CNU will take on a Lesley University squad that is 4-5 to start the year after winning two out of three from Fisher College last week. Senior James BRandon is hitting .548 with a .667 on-base percentage through the first nine games as he has registered 17 hits in 31 at-bats. The impressive start includes five extra-base hits with 12 RBI and 15 runs scored.
After returning from the trip to the Garden State, CNU will return to Captains Park for a Tuesday afternoon tilt against Southern Virginia University. First pitch against the Knights is 3:00 p.m.
