Christopher Newport University

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- For six innings against one of the best teams in Division III baseball, the Christopher Newport Captains battled to a 4-4 draw before the third-ranked University of Lynchburg utilized a seven-run seventh to pull away and capture the NCAA Regional Championship at City Stadium in Lynchburg, Va. on Sunday afternoon. The Captains closed out the year 26-17 overall after an 11-4 loss to the Hornets. 

Saddled with 33 innings already played in the first three games of the NCAA Regional, the Captains leaned heavily on junior Mitchell Mortensen in the start. Making his first career start against a nationally-ranked opponent, Mortensen stared down one of the most potent lineups in Division III and allowed just two earned runs over five innings of work. Mortensen gave up four runs on eight hits and three walks with a pair of punchouts, but the biggest thing he did was ate up innings for the overworked CNU bullpen. 

Freshman Luke Baker came on and worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning to keep the score knotted at four as the duo worked through the lineup three times before the Hornets broke through with the big inning in the seventh. Jackson Chappell and Hank Piersol each appeared in the game before Chase Hustead took the ball for the final two innings. The senior reliever allowed one run on two hits and faced just three batters in the bottom of the 8th. 

On the offensive side, the Captains struck first with a run in the top of the first and added another single run in the top of the third. Both times, Lynchburg knotted the game back up before CNU re-took the lead. Again Christopher Newport surged ahead in the top of the fifth with two runs, but the hosts managed to draw even again in the bottom half. 

In the top of the first, Sam Benedict worked a one-out walk and Aaron Maxie kept the inning alive with a two-out single through the right side to put runners at the corners. Gus Croll delivered the first RBI of the game with a clean single into right field, plating Benedict, and finishing out his junior year on a 12-game hitting streak. Maxie's single also extended his streak to 17 and both will extend into next year as the players enter their senior seasons. 

Jake Benedict then opened the third inning with a single down the line and ripped off second base with S. Benedict at the plate. The latter provided a productive out with a groundball to the right side, moving J. Benedict up 90 feet. Two batters later, it was Maxie coming through with another two-out RBI -- his first of three in the game -- when he legged out an infield single on a ball hit up the middle. 

Two innings later, freshman Hank Hardaway got things started with a leadoff walk as the rookie earned his first career start after Cameron Slough was sidelined with an injury in yesterday's action. The pivotal free pass set up a two-run inning for the Captains as S. Benedict added a single into center field two batters later. Then, with two outs, Maxie smashed a sizzling shot inside the first base bag for a two-run double, giving the Captains a 4-2 lead. 

Despite a second hit for S. Benedict and a leadoff single by Logan Adams in the sixth, the offense stalled for the remainder of the game. The seven-run inning for Lynchburg proved to be the difference as the Hornets advanced to the 2026 NCAA Super Regionals. 

Maxie finished 3-for-4 in the game and rounded out one of the best overall individual seasons in program history. His .422 mark is the sixth highest batting average for a single season in program history and the best since Billy Steel hit .427 in 2014. He also did it with the glove, posting the fourth perfect season defensively in program history and was the first player ever to finish the season without an error in over 150 chances; Maxie was perfect in 269 total chances at first base. 

CNU finished the season with exactly 350 runs scored, marking the seventh most in program history. Jake Benedict was a big part of that, scoring 52 runs out of the leadoff spot as the senior became just the fifth player to score more than 150 runs in his career. Fellow senior Josh Reinhold was not far behind, ranking ninth with 143 runs scored. Reinhold finished second all-time in walks with 113 and reached base in all but 11 of his 154 career games played. 

Sam Benedict, a senior, and Gus Croll, a junior, each finished the year hitting .361 for the Captains to set new personal best marks. On the mound, the Captains will graduate three starting pitchers in Jackson Baird (4-4, 3.54 ERA), Cooper Newell (5-0, 4.06 ERA), and Ryan Morrison (4-4, 6.07 ERA). This weekend also saw the final innings pitched for Dylan Blazer and Chase Hustead as top options out of the bullpen for the Captains. 

Head coach John Harvell reached the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in 26 seasons as head coach for the Captains and guided the team to the regional final for the fourth time in the last five seasons. He closes out the year with 699 career victories and his 18th season with 25 wins or more.