NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- With just two games left on the regular season schedule, the Christopher Newport baseball team climbed to No. 27 in the most recent edition of the
Collegiate Baseball/ABCA NCAA Division III Baseball Poll, as of games on April 26, 2022. The Captains moved up one spot from last week after posting three wins last week to improve to 24-10 overall.
Christopher Newport disposed of Washington and Lee, 9-8, in extra innings, before sweeping Mary Washington, 4-3 and 4-2, in a conference doubleheader last week. The Captains are on a brief hold in the schedule due to final exams and will return to action next Saturday, May 7 at No. 17 Salisbury University.
This season, CNU has ranked as high as No. 15 in the ABCA national rankings, which have been released every week since March 29. The No. 1 team in the poll, Marietta, is 31-3 with one of those setbacks coming at the hands of Christopher Newport earlier this season.
Success has been fueled by dominant pitching by the Captains throughout the season. Christopher Newport ranks third nationally in strikeouts per nine innings and 15th nationally in team ERA with a 3.39 mark. The Captains have limited walks, ranking ninth in K/BB ratio and 39th overall in WHIP.
Reliever
Daniel Elliott has led the way, ranking second nationally in K/BB ratio with a 19.33 mark while also ranking in the top-25 in K/9 (13.38) and saves (7). He has appeared in 18 games and boasts a 1.62 ERA to lead the way for the Captains. Sophomore
Jay Cassady (6-3) has anchored the rotation, ranking eighth in the country in total strikeouts while sitting just outside the top-ten in program history with 85 whiffs this season.
Offensively, junior transfer
Justin Bowers continues to assault the Captains' record book with a terrific year at the dish. He ranks sixth nationally in home runs and fifth in the country in slugging percentage. Bowers has drawn 29 walks this season to pair with his 37 hits and ranks 36th nationally in on-base percentage (.540). Junior outfielder
Alec Reilly is hitting .329 with nine extra-base hits and ranks second on the team in homers with three this season.
At the top of the order, fifth-year senior
Conner Clark has put together another outstanding campaign with a .312 average and a perfect 17-for-17 mark on the basepaths. His team-high 44 hits has pushed him to the top of the CNU all-time hits lead, passing Jordan Mason's previous record of 231 hits.
The nationally-ranked Captains will return to action on May 7 at Salisbury University for a Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader. The top seed in the C2C will then host the conference tournament the following weekend between CNU, Salisbury, and Mary Washington.
Collegiate Baseball / American Baseball Coaches Assn.
NCAA Div. 3 Baseball Poll
(As of April 26, 2022)
| Rank |
Team (2022 Record) |
Points |
PVS |
| 1. |
Marietta, OH (31-3) |
598 |
1 |
| 2. |
LaGrange, GA (30-5) |
553 |
2 |
| 3. |
Birmingham-Southern, AL (31-7) |
544 |
3 |
| 4. |
Eastern Connecticut St. (27-3) |
519 |
5 |
| 5. |
Arcadia, PA (31-5) |
476 |
6 |
| 6. |
Rowan, NJ (26-6) |
461 |
9 |
| 7. |
Lynchburg, VA (29-7) |
459 |
7 |
| 8. |
Wisconsin-Whitewater (23-6) |
417 |
8 |
| 9. |
La Verne, CA (25-7-1) |
416 |
4 |
| 10. |
Cortland, NY (26-7) |
397 |
10 |
| 11. |
Pomona-Pitzer, CA (26-5) |
393 |
14 |
| 12. |
Baldwin Wallace, OH (26-6) |
368 |
11 |
| 13. |
Trinity, TX (26-8) |
360 |
15 |
| 14. |
Wisconsin-Stevens Point (24-4) |
323 |
12 |
| 15. |
Webster, MO (24-5) |
316 |
13 |
| 16. |
Oswego, NY (21-7) |
258 |
17 |
| 17. |
Salisbury, MD (24-8) |
253 |
16 |
| 18. |
North Central, IL (25-8) |
244 |
18 |
| 19. |
Chapman, CA (25-9) |
241 |
23 |
| 20. |
Kean, NJ (29-7) |
213 |
22 |
| 21. |
Roger Williams, RI (24-3-1) |
205 |
24 |
| 22. |
Denison, OH (20-7) |
186 |
27 |
| 23. |
Aurora, IL (24-7) |
138 |
25 |
| 24. |
Rochester, NY (25-7) |
101 |
21 |
| 25. |
Endicott, MA (26-5) |
97 |
RV |
| 26. |
Randolph-Macon, VA (23-8) |
86 |
30 |
| 27. |
Christopher Newport, VA (24-10) |
85 |
28 |
| 28. |
Texas Lutheran (26-10) |
82 |
20 |
| 29. |
Washington & Jefferson, PA (26-7) |
68 |
RV |
| 30. |
Texas-Dallas (26-10) |
66 |
19 |
|
| Also Receiving Votes: Shenandoah, VA (64), Cal. Lutheran (53), Emory, GA (37), Tufts, MA (36), Benedictine, IL (28), Pacific, OR (25), Bethel, MN (23), St. John Fisher, NY (19), Loras, IA (18), Montclair St., NJ (16), East Texas Baptist (15), Catholic, DC (14), Gustavus Adolphus, MN (10), Wheaton, MA (7), Mass.-Boston (4), Babson, MA (3), Immaculata, PA (3), Hope, MI (1), Scranton, PA (1). |
