NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Hauling in his second career selection, Christopher Newport right-hander Jackson Baird was named the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday afternoon. Baird, who was earlier named to the D3baseball.com National Team of the Week this season, collects his first conference honor and second straight for CNU. 

The graduate student from Gainesivlle, Va. first earned C2C Pitcher of the Week plaudits on March 13, 2023 in his first year with the Captains. This season, Cooper Newell collected the first selection from the league last week and Baird made it two in a row for the Captains on Monday. 

Taking on the nationally-ranked Lions from Penn State Harrisburg, Baird carved up the lineup to the tune of seven shutout innings on Saturday afternoon. After allowing a one-out double in the top of the first, Baird retired eight batters in a row including seven straight strikeouts. He then surrendered his second hit of the outing before sitting down six more in a row with another punchout. 

In the top of the sixth, he allowed a leadoff walk but promptly retired the runner with a double play to the right side. He showed off his athleticism by sprinting to cover the bag and, while on the run, he needed to make a tough pick on a short-hop throw while simultaneously finding the base to beat the batter-runner by half a step. After the exciting twin killing, Baird got a groundball to get out of the sixth.

In his final inning of work, Baird left little to be desired when he needed just 14 pitches to strike out the side for a dominant finish on the hill. He racked up 11 strikeouts, marking the first time since 2023 that he had recorded double-digit K's, and he left the game with a 17-0 lead. 

Earning his first win of the season, Baird improved to 1-1 with a team-low 2.53 ERA over 21.1 innings pitched this season. He has struck out 27 batters while holding opponents to just a .171 batting average against. 

Christopher Newport will return to action this week as they host the US Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday, March 11 at 2:00 p.m. Following the mid-week matchup, the Captains will also host Wittenberg for a three-game series at Captains Park this weekend.