SALISBURY, Md. -- The first matchup against a Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference foe is on the docket Saturday for the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport baseball team as the Captains travel to take on No. 9 Salisbury University (18-6). First pitch against the Sea Gulls is slated for 2:00 p.m. at Donnie Williams Sea Gull Baseball Stadium with live stats and a live video webcast available online.
The Captains, ranked No. 15 in the ABCA Coaches' Poll and No. 16 in the D3baseball.com Top 25, are coming off a 17-14 setback at Randolph-Macon College on Thursday dropping their overall record to 19-7. It was just the second loss in the last ten games as the Captains have featured an explosive offense averaging 9.4 runs per game in that stretch.
The all-time series against Salisbury favors the Sea Gulls with Christopher Newport putting up a record of 34-58 in the matchup. The Sea Gulls have won nine in a row at home against the Captains with the last win in Maryland for CNU coming on April 9, 2021 in a 10-4 win.
This season, the Captains rank second nationally in doubles with 67 and tenth in total hits with 291. CNU has scored 238 runs, ranking 18th in Division III, while also ranking 17th in the country in home runs with 26.
Senior
Sam Benedict boasts a team-high .395 batting average while starting 21 games this season. His brother,
Jake Benedict, is hitting .376 and is among the team leaders in every statistical category as he ranks 1st in runs scored, 2nd in RBI, 2nd in slugging percentage, and 1st in extra-base hits. The only player on the team with more RBI than J. Benedict this season is junior
Cameron Slough, driving in 28 runs while starting all 26 games for the Captains. He has three home runs, 11 doubles and one triple this season and has also scored 28 runs himself while playing dominant defense behind the plate.
The Captains are hitting .323 as a team with outfielders
Gus Croll (.333), Brayden Mazzon (.286), and
Jacob Koenig (.284) adding depth to the lineup. Rookie third baseman
Logan Adams is hitting .326 in his first year with 25 RBI and 26 runs scored while senior shortstop
Josh Reinhold has made his return to the lineup and is hitting .371 in 19 games played.
On the mound,
Jackson Baird features a 3-2 overall record with a 2.89 ERA in seven starts. The graduate student has 46 strikeouts in 37.1 innings pitched to lead the way for the rotation while holding oponents to just a .206 batting average against. Junior reliever
Mitchell Mortensen is 4-0 with a 1.74 ERA in 11 appearances this Spring while striking out 17 over 20.2 innings pitched.
Salisbury leads the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (6.30) while pitching three shutouts this season to rank eighth in the country. With a team ERA of 2.99, the Sea Gulls rank sixth nationally in pitching so far this year. The rotation is led by Aidan Brinsfield (4-2, 2.56 ERA) with eight starts while Tyler Villa (3-2, 3.24 ERA) has also made six starts. Out of the pen, Cole Williams has made 14 appearances boasts a 4-0 record with a 1.63 ERA.
Offensively, Salisbury has been led by slugger Jackson Innman with a .367 average and a league-high seven home runs with 28 RBI and 26 runs scored. Conner Seeley is also hitting .350 and Nathan Tondreault is adding a .349 average in 24 games played.
Following the Saturday afternoon matchup on the road, Christopher Newport will return home to welcome 2nd-ranked Lynchburg on Wednesday, April 8. First pitch against the Hornets is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
