NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (Courtesy of CNU Athletics) — In a thrilling game seven at the 2024 NCAA Newport News Regional Championship, the 10th-ranked Christopher Newport Captains outlasted the 17th-ranked North Carolina Wesleyan Battling Bishops to capture the fourth regional championship in program history. The Captains (29-10) won, 6-5, and advance to the first Super Regional in program history, which they will host next weekend against 11th-ranked Misericordia University. 

Playing the rubber match in what ended up being a five game series this season, the Captains used a five-run fourth inning and an all-important insurance run in the top of the eighth to win the double-elimination tournament on Monday morning. It was the only remaining regional game being played in 2024 as Christopher Newport punched the final ticket to Super Regionals. For the year, CNU and N.C. Wesleyan split the regular season series and split two games in the postseason before the Captains earned Monday’s decisive victory.

Since NCAA Division III went to a Super Regional format in 2019, the Captains have reached the regionals four times including three straight regional final appearances from 2022-24. Prior to the Super Regional format, Christopher Newport won regional championships in 2002, 2003, and 2012. 

The game would come down to the final out as North Carolina Wesleyan trailed, 6-3, heading into the bottom of the ninth as they served as the home team in the regional final. Tyson Bass led off the ninth with a solo home run to trigger a late-game rally by the Battling Bishops, who would score another run on three hits before CNU went to the bullpen with two runners on, including the game-winning run on first base. The Captains called on on sophomore starter Brandon Cassedy, who started twice against N.C. Wesleyan this season including in a win during the NCAA Regional on Saturday.

Cassedy came in with runners on first and second and one out, set to face Colin Scoggins with the game-tying run on second base. After getting ahead in the count, Cassedy induced a fly ball to right field for the second out. Then, taking on Maison Nance, the Captains’ sophomore overpowered the Bishops final batter, striking him out on four pitches. With the dramatic save paired with a key win on the mound Saturday, Cassedy was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. 

He was joined on the 2024 NCAA Newport News All-Regional Tournament Team by teammates Scott Crosson, Daniel Elliott, Justin Liakos, and Ayden Stuffel. N.C. Wesleyan was represented by Tyson Bass, Javi Quintana, Andrew Tubb, and Cord Butler, and Immaculata earned two spots on the All-Tournament team in Joey Wright and Stephen DiBattista. 

CNU scored five runs in the top of the fourth inning after a strong start to the inning. Lincoln Lubsen led off with a walk and Stuffel followed with a single up the middle on a full count. After Aaron Maxie earned a one-out walk to load the bases, Liakos got the Captains on the board with a groundball that forced a diving play by the first baseman and allowed the first run to score. With a 2-1 lead, the Battling Bishops looked primed to wiggle out of the jam when they induced a groundball out next for the second of the inning, but Crosson smacked a 1-1 pitch into right center field to plate the game-tying and go-ahead runs. The Bishops went to the bullpen and a pair of errors allowed two more runs to come in to cap the five run frame. 

In the top of the 8th, the Captains utilized their patented two-out offense to scratch across a sixth run that would prove pivotal in the game. Maxie singled into right field with two outs to bring up Liakos in a 5-3 game. The junior second baseman put the ball in play, singling to third base and forcing a bad throw that allowed Maxie to race all the way around from first base for the run. 

On the mound, C2C Pitcher of the Year Dylan Weber started after logging a full day on Friday in the regional opener. In 3.0 innings of work, Weber struck out six and set another record, marking the most strikeouts in a single season by a Captains pitcher. He surpassed the mark of 126 set by Rob Dye in 2002 and now is the all-time leader with 130 in 2024. Daniel Elliott came on in the fourth and worked a clean inning before surrendering a run in the fifth with one strikeout. Then, veterans Danny Checkosky and Kyle Lewis got CNU into the ninth. Checkosky struck out three with one hit allowed over two shutout inningsand Lewis got through the eighth without issue. Finally, it was Cassedy closing the door with two-thirds of an inning in his first relief appearance of the year. 

Crosson and Liakos led the way offensively with two hits apiece and five other Captains logged one hit in the game.

After the win, the NCAA announced that CNU would host Misericordia in the Super Regional Round next week. Game one of the best-of-three series will be played at Noon on Friday, May 24 with Game 2 and the “if necessary” Game 3 scheduled to be played on Saturday starting at 11:00 am.