NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- A pivotal Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference matchup is on the schedule for Saturday afternoon as 13th-ranked Christopher Newport (23-12) welcomes in 12th-ranked Salisbury University (26-9). First pitch at Captains Park is slated for 2:00 p.m. as the Captains host the Sea Gulls in a game that has postseason implications for both teams.
The Captains earned a 2-0 win over the Sea Gulls in the first matchup back on Saturday, April 4 as
Jackson Baird and
Mitchell Mortensen combined for a shutout on the road. This season, the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship hosting rights is determined by head-to-head records between CNU, Salisbury, and Mary Washington. Heading into Saturday, Salisbury and Mary Washington have split a pair while Mary Washington owns a 1-0 record against the Captains with their second game coming in the regular season finale on May 2.
Live stats and a live video webcast will be available for all the action from Captain Park. Links to both can be found on the baseball schedule at CNUsports.com.
This week, the Captains have dropped three in a row after moving up to No. 13 in both the ABCA Coaches' Poll and the D3baseball.com Top 25 rankings. CNU features one of the league-leading offenses hitting .321 as a team and averaging 8.6 runs per game. The Captains have ripped 89 doubles, ranking eighth in Division III, led by senior
Jake Benedict with 15 two-base hits.
Benedict is one of 14 seniors set to be recognized prior to the game for Senior Day and enters the game leading the Captains over the last four years with a .344 career batting average. His twin brother,
Sam Benedict, has hit .326 over his career with 119 career games played. Additionally, starting shortstop
Josh Reinhold will be honored after hitting .335 through the first 146 games of his career with a team-best 185 base hits in that stretch.
Stone Lasseigne, who has started 10 games this season, enters the Senior Day outing with 10 runs scored and five RBI for the Captains.
On the mound,
Jackson Baird,
Ryan Morrison, and
Cooper Newell will be honored after starting 29 of the 35 games this season for CNU. In the bullpen,
Dylan Blazer,
Marcus Dux,
Peter Hoenig, and
Chase Hustead will also be recognized prior to one of their final home regular season games. Rounding out the 14 are
Jason Mendler,
Jackson Gimbel,
Ayden Stuffel, and
Nate Toomey, who have contributed as role players throughout their careers at Christopher Newport.
This season, Newell is 5-0 with a team-leading 3.06 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 50.0 innings pitched. Baird has added a 4-3 record and 3.51 ERA while striking out a team-high 63 batters in 51.1 innings pitched. Rounding out the trio is the lefty, Morrison, with three wins and a no-hitter in 10 starts this season.
Salisbury will be looking to even the score with the Captains while featuring the league's leading pitching staff and one of the top offenses in the nation. The Sea Gulls rank 34th nationally in runs per game, scoring 9.5, while the pitching staff is in the top-five nationally with a 2.88 ERA this season.
Leading the Sea Gulls offense is Nathan Tondreault and Jackson Inman, who have each started all 35 games this season. Tondreault is hitting .392 with 8 HR and 42 RBI while Inman is adding a .376 average with 10 HR and 46 RBI. The pitching staff is led by Cole Williams out of the pen with 20 appearances and a 6-0 record with a 1.16 ERA. The starters are led by Aidan Brinsfield with a 6-3 record and 2.62 ERA.
Following the Saturday afternoon tilt, the Captains will return to action on Tuesday, April 28 at No. 2 Lynchburg with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
