Christopher Newport University

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Behind a gutsy playoff performance from senior Ryan Morrison (4-4) and timely offensive production, the Christopher Newport baseball team earned a 9-6 win over Maryville College (TN) on Saturday night to advance to the NCAA Regional Championship against No. 3 Lynchburg on Sunday. Morrison tossed six strong innings after also appearing in the day's opening game to lift the Captains to a second-straight elimination game victory and improve to 26-16 overall this season. 

It marks the fourth time since 2022 that Christopher Newport has advanced to the NCAA Regional final after facing host Marietta in 2022, host Shenandoah in 2023, and taking down N.C. Wesleyan at home in 2024. 

Earlier in the day, Christopher Newport earned its spot in the Game 5 elimination matchup with the Scots with a thrilling come-from-behind win against Penn St.-Behrend, 10-9, in eleven innings. Carrying that momentum into the nightcap, CNU avenged a Friday afternoon loss to the Scots by scoring four runs in the third and five more in the final two frames while holding off another upset bid by Maryville. 

Leading the charge was Morrison, whose gritty effort on the mound earned him his fourth victory of the season. After throwing 33 pitches in an inning of relief against the Lions, Morrison had just under five hours between games to prepare for the first postseason start of his career. Facing one of the most potent lineups in the nation with over 500 hits in 2026, the senior lefty gave up just two runs on five hits and a walk over 6.0 innings pitched. He threw another 113 pitches and left the game with a 4-2 lead. 

His best inning came in the fourth when he retired the side in order on just ten pitches. He leaned on the standout defense of senior second baseman Sam Benedict with back-to-back sparkling plays at the keystone. First, Benedict ranged to his left and made a glove-side snag to keep the ball from slipping through the infield. Then, he made a dynamite diving stop as the next batter also hit it his way, clambored to his feet and fired to first for the second out. Morrison closed out the inning with a punchout and finished the game with three total strikeouts. 

Handing the ball off to fellow senior Dylan Blazer, the Captains' starter watched on as his classmate also put together a strong performance on the hill. Blazer put up two more zeroes in the seventh and eighth innings including a pair of pivotal strikeouts in the eighth inning. Working into the ninth, Blazer walked the first two batters but bounced back with a three-pitch strikeout for the first out of the inning. After running into trouble, the Captains went to junior Alex Shelkin to finish out the win. Shelkin induced a flyball out to put CNU just one out away from victory. With a three-run lead, Shelkin faced Friday's hero for the Scots, Irvin Hernandez -- who hit a game-tying home run in the 13th against CNU -- with a runner in scoring position. The battle saw Hernandez work the count full against the Captains' right-hander, but this time it was CNU who came out on top as Shelkin got him to swing through the 3-2 pitch to end the game. 

While the pitching did enough, it was also timely hitting that led to the win including five pivotal runs over the last two innings. After falling behind, 1-0, heading into the third inning, the Captains scored four runs on three hits to take the lead for good. Logan Adams opened the inning with a four-pitch walk and stole second base. In a pair of understated at-bats from Jacob Koenig and Stone Lasseigne, the Captains were in business with the top of the lineup coming up. First, Koenig worked back from an 0-2 hole to walk with a pair of courageous takes to earn first base on the free pass. Then, with two on and nobody out, senior Stone Lasseigne was employed to sacrifice the runners over and executed a perfect bunt to get the job done. 

Now with runners in scoring position, Sam Benedict stepped to the plate and picked up the first big hit of the day for the Captains. He blistered a two-run single into left center field that chased in both Adams and Koenig. Josh Reinhold followed with a laser into right, setting up another clutch two-out at-bat for leading run producer Aaron Maxie. The junior first baseman stepped in and lofted the first pitch he saw into shallow left center field; the defender attempted a diving stop but could not come up with it and Benedict was followed tightly by Reinhold on the two-run double. For Maxie, the hit extended a team-high 16-game hitting streak and the veteran picked up his 16th and 17th two-out RBI of the season. 

The 4-1 lead held until Maryville scored one more in the bottom of the fifth. CNU then added some much-needed insurance with three runs in the top of the eighth. Jake Benedict reached on a single to second base and stole second with one out before Reinhold walked. Maxie came up again and fired a two-strike RBI single up the middle for his third of the day. CNU took advantage of two errors in the inning to score two more runs and build the lead to 7-2. 

In the top of the ninth, Lasseigne snuck a hard-hit groundball inside the bag at first base for a single to lead off the inning and was lifted for pinch runner Creston Saunders. J. Benedict notched his second straight base hit with a single bounding through the left side and the Captains again had two on with nobody out. Once again, CNU took advantage of a pair of errors to plate two more runs as Reinhold and Maxie forced the defense to make plays and they were unable to manage allowing Saunders and Benedict to score. 

The late rally proved essential as Maryville mounted a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth, but Shelkin's heroics finished out the win for CNU and eliminated the Scots from the Regional. 

Christopher Newport will now advance to face the University of Lynchburg, ranked No. 3 in the nation, in Sunday's regional final. The Captains would need to win twice to capture the regional title with Lynchburg advancing through the winners bracket in the double-elimination format. Game time for the first game on Sunday has been changed and CNU will now face the first pitch at City Stadium at 12:00 p.m.