NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Hosting a top-25 showdown at Captains Park on Saturday, the 20th-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team will return to action against No. 25 Randolph-Macon College (11-4) with first pitch scheduled for 2:00 p.m. The Captains (13-5) have been off for seven days after capturing a doubleheader sweep over Wittenberg University last weekend. CNU will also travel to Hampden-Sydney for a matchup against the Tigers on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

Admission to CNU baseball games is free of charge. For fans unable to attend in person, live stats and a live video webcast will be available free online. Links to both can be found on the baseball schedule at CNUsports.com. 

The matchup is the latest chapter in a long-standing series with the Yellow Jackets. R-MC has taken a 34-29 advantage in the all-time series in one of the most even matchups in CNU baseball lore. The teams have traded victories since 1986 with at least one game in all but four seasons since the initial pairing. 

This season, Christopher Newport is 10-4 at home and following Saturday's game will hit the road for five of the next eight games. Last week, rookies Jake Mutter and Logan Adams led the way for the Christopher Newport offense. Adams was named to the D3baseball.com National Team of the Week at third base and Mutter slid in for two starts at shortstop against Wittenberg. In the three-game series against the Tigers, Mutter was 5-for-11 with three doubles, three RBI, and six runs scored. Adams hit .467 with seven hits over four games including a pair of home runs. He drove in eight and scored six times last week. 

Junior first baseman Aaron Maxie also continued the strong start to his season with a home run against Coast Guard, driving in three and scoring three times. The standout at first is hitting a team-high .391 this season while slugging .688 for the year. Jake Benedict extended his career-high hitting streak to 12 before going hitless in game two against the Tigers, but has bounced right back to log a hit in game three to start a new streak. Benedict is hitting .370 and, with Cameron Slough, is one of only two players to start all 18 games this year. Slough is hitting .359 and ranks second on the team with 21 RBI. 

On the mound, CNU has been led by Cooper Newell (4-0, 2.33 ERA) and Jackson Baird (1-2, 2.73 ERA). The Captains' duo has combined for 61 strikeouts in 53.1 innings pitched while Baird is holding opponents to a .202 batting average against. Out of the bullpen, junior Mitchell Mortensen has seven appearances with a 2.53 ERA and Charlie Gunn leads the squad with nine appearances this year. Gunn has gone 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA and one save so far. 

Randolph-Macon will counter with a red-hot offense that has won four in a row for the Yellow Jackets while scoring nine or more runs in three of those four games. Carter Schmitt is hitting .412 through the first 15 games of the season while helping ignite the offense with Zach Wernoski leading the team in RBI with 15. Wernoski is hitting .377 and has also scored a team-high 16 runs. Peter Phillips (2-0, 2.35 ERA) has started two games and come out of the pen four times to lead the pitching staff while Carter Schuma (3-1, 3.00 ERA) and William Wian (1-2, 4.62 ERA) have each started four games this year. 

Following the Saturday afternoon matchup at Captains Park, Christopher Newport will travel to Hampden-Sydney College on Sunday. The Tigers will host CNU at 2:00 p.m. and come into the game with a 10-8 overall record. H-SC will face Washington and Lee in a Saturday doubleheader before taking on the Captains. The offense has been led by Connor Powell hitting .339 with 14 RBI and 14 runs scored while also going 12-for-13 on the basepaths. Jase Howell has also driven in 14 for the Tigers offense.