NOTE: Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 9. Fans should be advised that clocks will "spring forward" one hour at 2:00 a.m. 

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team is prepared to host six games at Captains Park this weekend starting with a 2:00 p.m. first pitch on Thursday afternoon against Roanoke College (6-5). The Captains (8-3) will also welcome the University of Hartford for a doubleheader on Friday before welcoming Penn State Harrisburg on Saturday. 

The week's schedule includes a single game against the Maroons on Thursday before an 11:00 a.m. start on Friday for a twinbill against the Hawks. On Saturday, Hartford and Penn State Harrisburg will play at 10:30 a.m. before the hosts face the Lions in the second game of the day at approximately 1:00 p.m. Finally, Penn State Harrisburg and Hartford will square off in another a neutral site matchup on Sunday, March 9 at 11:00 a.m. 

Live stats and a live video webcast will be available for all six games with links found on the baseball schedule at CNUsports.com. Admission to Captains Park is free of charge. 

CNU has won four in a row and improved to 8-3 on the season while maintaining their spot in the Top 25 nationally. The Captains slipped one spot and are now ranked No. 12 in the nation according to the D3baseball.com Top 25. 

The Captains swept their three games in Myrtle Beach during their Spring Break trip to the Ripken Experience with a 12-11 win against Manchester, 8-2 victory versus Saint Elizabeth, and an 11-1 throttling of Neumann University in their last game. The pitching impressed over the last two games with Chase Hustead (1-1) leading the charge against St. Elizabeth with eight innings of shutout ball on the mound. In the finale against Neumann, Jackson Baird (1-1) earned the win after striking out six in five innings pitched. 

For the season, Ryan Morrison leads the team ERA with a 2.92 mark in five appearances including one start. He has 12 strikeouts in 12.1 innings pitched. Baird has a 3.77 ERA and a team-leading 15 strikeouts while Cooper Newell has also struck out 15 batters. In the bullpen, Eli Novario and Christian Williams have yet to surrender a run between them in 10 combined appearances. Williams has three saves in five games played. 

Offensively, the Captains are hitting .319 as a team led by sophomore catcher Cameron Slough at .458 this season. Four Captains are hitting over .400 through the first 11 games including Doc Daniels (.450), Jake Benedict (.413), and Justin Liakos (.400). The top run producers have been Aaron Maxie and Sam Benedict with 10 RBI each. 

Roanoke enters the game on Thursday having picked up six wins this season including an extra-inning 12-11 win against No. 5 Denison last Saturday. The Maroons are led by Tyler Galloway hitting .391 with seven RBI. On the mound, Owen Wojciechowski has started four games and boasts a 1.21 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 22.1 innings pitched in the early portion of the season. 

Hartford enters the weekend with a 3-2 overall record after defeating Mary Washington on a neutral field before adding a sweep over Trinity (Conn.) in a doubleheader last weekend. J.J. Romatzick has a team-high .474 average this season while Alek Popovich leads the team with seven RBI in just three games played. Popovich has two home runs and a double in his first ten at-bats this season. 

Finally, Penn State Harrisburg returns to Captains Park ranked No. 19 in the nation according to the most recent D3baseball.com Top 25. In the early portion of the season, the Lions rank second nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (14.8) and 38th in Division III in home runs per game (1.0). Brendan Henn is hitting .444 with seven extra-base hits in the first six games this season while driving in 12 runs. The Lions are off to a 6-0 start and have a matchup against Arcadia on Thursday before making the trek to Newport News. 

Following the weekend, Christopher Newport will host William Peace University on Tuesday, March 11 at 3:00 p.m. before welcoming the United States Coast Guard Academy for a single game on Wednesday, March 1 at 1:00 p.m.