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SALISBURY, Md. -- The Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Baseball Championship begins on Friday afternoon as the #3-seed Christopher Newport Captains (24-14) travel to #2-seed Salisbury University (30-9) for the semifinal round. First pitch at Donnie Williams Sea Gull Baseball Stadium is set for 3:00 p.m. with the winning team advancing to Saturday's championship game.
The game will be the rubber match in the season series against the Sea Gulls as Christopher Newport and Salisbury split a pair of hard-fought regular season games. First, CNU won on the road, 2-0, at Salisbury on April 4 when
Jackson Baird and
Mitchell Mortensen combined for the first shutout against the conference foes since 2011. Then, the Sea Gulls held off the Captains, 2-1, in the April 25 matchup at CNU despite the host Captains out-hitting Salisbury.
Christopher Newport is 35-59 all-time against the Sea Gulls with a 10-35 record in Salisbury, Md. It will be the ninth time the two teams have matched up in the conference tournament since the Captains joined the league in 2013-14.
Live stats and a live video webcast will be available online for the C2C Semifinal matchup courtesy of Salisbury University Athletics. Links to both can be found at the top of this page and on the baseball schedule at CNUsports.com.
The Captains have been led this season by six first team All-Conference selections in 2026 including five in the starting lineup. Posting one of the finest seasons at first base in program history, Christopher Newport junior
Aaron Maxie leads the attack by hitting a league-high .421 over 107 at-bats while driving in a team-high 37 runs. Maxie has also been a stalwart defensively, posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 220 total chances at first base.
Hitting behind Maxie this season, junior catcher
Cameron Slough ranks second on the team with 36 RBI while ranking second on the team in extra-base hits with 18. Slough is hitting .358 with three home runs, one triple, and 14 doubles this year while also showcasing the best eye on the team with 25 walks. Ahead of the power supply in the middle of the lineup, seniors
Jake Benedict and
Sam Benedict have been setting the table throughout the year. S. Benedict is hitting .374, ranking third on the team, with just eight strikeouts in 123 at-bats. J. Benedict is leading the team with 46 runs scored, 56 base hits, 15 doubles, and 6 home runs while hitting .352 for the Captains.
The offense features a number of hard-hitting options including first team All-C2C outfielder
Gus Croll, hitting .390 in his third year. Croll is heading into the postseason with one of the hottest bats in the conference with seven multi-hit games over an eight-game stretch to end the year. He has hit nine doubles with four home runs this year.
On the mound,
Jackson Baird earned first team All-Conference honors after posting a 4-4 overall record with a 3.79 ERA. Baird struck out 76 batters over 61.2 innings pitched and continues to lead a rotation that features
Cooper Newell (5-0, 3.38 ERA) and
Ryan Morrison (3-3, 6.02 ERA). Out of the pen,
Mitchell Mortensen (5-0, 1.23 ERA) has led the way for the relievers in 15 appearances.
Salisbury, ranked in the top ten nationally, has won 10 in a row heading into the C2C Tournament while being led by the Conference Rookie and Player of the Year in Nathan Tondreault. Tondreault is hitting .407 with an OPS of 1.214 as he has delivered 22 extra-base hits including 10 HR. Jackson Inman also has 10 home runs with a team-high 50 RBI while hitting .377 for the Sea Gulls. On the mound, Aidan Brinsfield (8-3, 2.33 ERA) leads the rotation in 13 starts this year while Cole Williams (6-0, 1.13 ERA) has anchored the bullpen in 22 total pitching appearances.
The other semifinal matchup features top-seeded Mary Washington against #4 seed Regent University at 3:00 p.m. The two winning teams will face off at the highest seed remaining with game time TBD on Saturday.
