NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- For the third season in a row the Christopher Newport baseball team will compete for a regional title after 10th-ranked CNU (28-9) captured a 7-2 win over 17th-ranked North Carolina Wesleyan (34-12) on a rainy day at Captains Park Saturday afternoon. The Captains got a mammoth two-run blast from Justin Liakos to highlight the offensive production while Brandon Cassedy (7-3) earned a hard-fought win with six shutout frames on the mound. 

In 2022, Christopher Newport reached the NCAA Regional title game against Marietta College on their home field. In 2023, the Captains faced Shenandoah for a chance to advance to the Super Regional in Winchester. This year, CNU will compete for the regional championship on their own home field against either N.C. Wesleyan or Immaculata, who will face off in an elimination game on Sunday morning at 11:00 am. Immaculata defeated Scranton, 8-0, on Saturday, to advance in the regional bracket. 

Facing wet and muddy conditions like the majority of the Division III regional landscape this postseason, the Captains took the field approximately two hours later than anticipated on Saturday afternoon but showed no signs of the wait hampering the red-hot CNU squad. The Captains and Bishops played through the first three innings unscathed as the starting pitchers worked around just three baserunners in the first 18 outs of the game. 

Playing as the visiting team in the double-elimination tournament, the Captains struck first in the top of the fourth by taking advantage of a pair of Bishops errors. Zach Dzarnowski reached on an error and moved up to third when Ayden Stuffel, scorching at the plate, blistered a line drive off the pitcher and into right field. One batter later, Jake Benedict grounded to the third baseman, but he could not handle the play and Dzarnowski was able to score. 

A pivotal moment in the game came in the next half inning as North Carolina Wesleyan attempted to answer the Captains game-opening run. Jackson Hobbs singled to lead off the inning and the next two batters walked to load the bases against Cassedy, who worked himself into a jam. Facing a tough situation with a one-run lead, the Captains pulled in the infielders to try and defend the bases loaded situation. With the count 3-2 against the batter, Cassedy induced a groundball to third that Sam Benedict picked cleanly and was able to fire home for the first out of the inning. Still stuck in the predicament, Cassedy worked himself out with back-to-back strikeouts to strand all three runners and hold onto the 1-0 lead. 

CNU rewarded their sophomore star with another run of insurance in the fifth when Justin Liakos led off with a walk and advanced to third on a wild pitch and groundball to the pitcher. Scott Crosson stepped in and pounded a groundball to the right side, allowing Liakos to sprint home for the 2-0 lead. 

Cassedy showed renewed confidence in the fifth by retiring the side in order, 1-2-3, with a pair of strikeouts, and again the CNU lineup backed up their starter in the top of the sixth. Stuffel logged his fourth hit of the tournament and ninth hit over the last four games when he led off with a single through the right side. After back-to-back strikeouts by the Bishops starter, Liakos stepped to the plate and worked his way through a strong at-bat at the plate. Liakos fell behind 1-2 in the count before watching a pair of balls to run the count full. Then, he turned on the next pitch and unloaded a towering two-run home run over the wall in left field to double the lead. 

With some more breathing room, Cassedy worked around a pair of singles in the sixth before closing out his first career postseason start with a quality outing, striking out eight over 6.0 scoreless frames. He walked four and allowed three hits but kept the Battling Bishops off the board for the first six innings. Continuing to add to his sensational sophomore season, Cassedy still holds the highest K/9 for a single season in program history at 13.70 and eclipsed 100 strikeouts for the season during the game. Cassedy and Dylan Weber become the first set of Captains to strike out 100 in the same season since Rob Dye (126) and Cliff Wester (121) in the 2002 season and only the second pair ever to accomplish the feat. 

In the top of the seventh, the Captains staked Cassedy to a 5-0 lead before exiting after tacking on another tally. Dzarnowski walked with one out and Lincoln Lubsen flared a single into left field to put two on. Jake Benedict walked the bases loaded to bring up rookie Aaron Maxie in an RBI opportunity. He did not waste the chance, smoking a single up the middle to drive in one. 

Single runs in the eighth and ninth finished out the scoring for CNU as Sam Benedict led off the eighth with a double down the left field line. Crosson then singled to move him to third before Josh Reinhold added an RBI groundout to the third baseman. In the ninth, Stuffel walked and moved up on a wild pitch. Maxie then walked and Stuffel sped to third on another wild pitch. Liakos continued his hot run at the plate with an RBI single into left field, capping a 2-for-4, 2 R, 3-RBI day for the junior at the keystone. 

North Carolina Wesleyan scored twice in the bottom of the eighth and threatened again in the ninth by loading the bases against Kyle Lewis, but the veteran reliever picked up a clutch strikeout of one of the nation's top hitters in 2024, Tyson Bass, and got Javier Quintana to fly out to end the game. 

Peter Hoenig tossed a clean inning in relief for the Captains and Danny Checkosky struck out a pair in the eighth. 

Liakos and Stuffel led the way at the plate with a pair of two-hit performances. Stuffel reached base for the 20th straight game, marking the second longest active streak for CNU and raised his season's average to .319, up nearly 50 points during a red-hot tear at the plate that has seen the sophomore go 14-for-26 since April 27. 

With the win, Christopher Newport holds the advantage heading into the 2024 NCAA Newport News Regional Championship, needing to win just one game to hoist the trophy. The elimination game between Immaculata and N.C. Wesleyan will be played at 11:00 am on Sunday with the championship slated for 2:30 pm. If necessary, the two teams vying for the title in the double-elimination format will play a game seven on Monday morning at 11:00 am.