NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport baseball team, scheduled to play a home-and-home series with Randolph-Macon College (16-11) this weekend, announced the Saturday afternoon tilt at the Yellow Jackets has been canceled. CNU Baseball (16-13) will next host R-MC on Sunday, April 13 at 2:00 p.m. on a special day at Captains Park as it will be Medina14 Foundation Day.
The game between the long-time rivals will feature a pre-game ceremony honoring the life of Ricky R. Medina, Jr., a CNU baseball alum and member of the Christopher Newport Class of 2006. Medina passed away on December 13, 2022 after a battle with brain cancer at the age of 39 and in his memory, his wife, Victoria, launched the Medina14 Foundation to honor the life of her late husband. The foundation was created to benefit causes important to Ricy, such as supporting young athletes and brain cancer research.
Medina's legacy will forever be intertwined with Christopher Newport baseball -- in recognition of his life and legacy, the baseball press box has been named, and will forever be named, the Ricky R. Medina, Jr. Press Box. Prior to Sunday's game, the official dedication of the Press Box will be held on the field and a special "first pitch" will be thrown out by a member of the Medina family.
After the momentous recognition, the Captains will take on the Yellow Jackets in a series that dates all the way back to 1986 in the early stages of the CNU program. The two teams have met in all but four years since in one of the most competitive back-and-forth matchups in CNU baseball history. The Yellow Jackets currently hold a four-game advantage in the series, as CNU trails 29-33 after the teams split a pair of games last year. CNU won at home, 9-6, before dropping an 8-4 decision in Ashland.
On Sunday, live stats and a live video webcast will be available on CNUsports.com. Admission to the special event are free of charge.
CNU comes into the contest having dropped back-to-back close matchups with top-ten opponents against No. 7 Salisbury (14-11) and No. 2 Lynchburg (11-7). On Thursday afternoon, rookie
Jackson Chappell made a triumphant return from an injury with 4.1 no-hit innings of relief against the top-ranked Lynchburg offense. In the game, sophomore
Cameron Slough hit a game-tying grand slam, marking his second grand slam of the year.
Offensively,
Jake Benedict is hitting .418 and is the only CNU player to start all 29 games played this year. The leadoff man has 39 runs scored and 51 hits while posting a perfect 14-for-14 showing on the basepaths. Sophomore
Aaron Maxie is hitting .391 and ranks second on the team in starts with 28. The first baseman has an impressive on-base percentage of .536 with a team-leading 25 walks and six HBP to go with his 36 base hits this year. Regulars
Ayden Stuffel (.337),
Justin Liakos (.325), Slough (.318), and
Josh Reinhold (.307) are all hitting over .300 for an offense that is averaging over seven runs per game.
Randolph-Macon is led by Carter Schmitt with a 1.058 OPS this season while hitting .379 for the Yellow Jackets. Aaron Lautenschlager has a team-high 28 RBI and 28 runs scored while hitting .314 as the only R-MC starter in all 27 games played. As a team, the Yellow Jackets are hitting .307 and are dangerous on the basepaths with 54 stolen bases. The pitching staff is led by William Wian (4-1, 2.39 ERA) while Bere Bauers has a team-high 48 strikeouts in 42.2 innings pitched.
CNU is scheduled to travel to Marymount University on Monday, April 14 before traveling to face Lynchburg on the road Wednesday, April 16 following the Sunday matchup. Stay tuned to CNUsports.com for any schedule updates.
