COLLEGE BASEBALL
CNU takes second in conference tourney
Christopher Newport placed second Thursday in the one-day Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, defeating Mary Washington 13-6 in a semifinal before falling 15-4 at top-seeded Salisbury (31-8), the nation’s No. 9 Division III team. The Sea Gulls’ victory was shortened to seven innings because of the run rule.
The Captains finished their season 21-18.
Against UMW, Aaron Maxie had four hits, two runs and four RBIs for CNU. Jackson Baird held the Eagles to one earned run and five hits and five innings.
Against Salisbury, CNU fell behind 10-0 in the first inning as the Sea Gulls made the most of three hits. In that inning, CNU issued six walks and plunked two batters. The Captains’ Eric Wilson hit a three-run homer in a four-run sixth.
Salisbury’s Noah Burroughs and Jackson Inman each drove in three runs and scored two.
ODU beats VCU
Wednesday, Old Dominion (18-26) defeated VCU 8-2 at The Diamond. The Rams fell to 14-34 as six ODU pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts.
Maverick Stallings hit a three-run homer, doubled and walked. Kyle Edwards tripled, doubled and drove in two runs.
George Mason (33-16) edged William & Mary 8-7 at Plumeri Park despite being outhit 13-6 by the Tribe (20-28), who left 16 runners on base.
W&M center fielder Ben Parker extended his modern-era school-record hitting streak to 34 games, going 3 for 4 with two runs and two walks. He can break the Coastal Athletic Association record by getting to 35 in Friday’s 6:15 p.m. home game against first-place Northeastern.
The Tribe’s Jamie Laskofski was 2 for 5 with three RBIs and a pair of runs. George Mason’s Owen Clyne had three RBIs and two hits.
Liberty (27-22) defeated Virginia Tech 7-4 in Lynchburg, scoring six runs in the first inning. Tucker Moore’s three-run homer brought in half of them. Jared Davis and Ben Watson belted two-run homers for the Hokies (27-22).
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Clemson beats UVA in ACC quarterfinal
Taylor Pipkins’ grand slam in the sixth inning lifted second-seeded Clemson, the nation’s No. 14 team, to a 7-4 victory over seventh-seeded Virginia in an Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinal at Boston College’s stadium.
The Cavaliers (37-17), ranked 25th nationally, are a likely NCAA at-large selection. They won their first-round game Wednesday 3-2 over Louisville on Kelly Ayer’s RBI double in the seventh.
Top-seeded CNU hosts league tourney
The Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference semifinal between second-seeded Salisbury (32-5-1) and third-seeded Mary Washington (11-29) at CNU’s Captains Park was moved up to 1 p.m. Friday.
That game’s winner will take on CNU (34-4) for the title at 3:30. The Captains are ranked third and the Sea Gulls eighth in Division III.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S TENNIS
CNU’s Weis, Schaefer headed to NCAAs
Christopher Newport senior Raine Weis qualified for the 32-player NCAA Division III singles championship tournament for the third time. She and sophomore Kylie Schaefer earned a spot in the 16-team doubles field, marking Weis’ third NCAA doubles berth — the first two were with 2024 graduate Tessa Trate, now an assistant coach.
Weis, ranked 15th, and Schaefer will play at Claremont Mudd Scripps in Southern California, starting May 24. They are ranked 11th in doubles.
The 31st-ranked Captains won their second consecutive Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference team title last weekend, but they did not qualify for the 49-team NCAA field because the tournament only had four teams — too few to warrant an automatic bid.
Mary Washington sophomore Addison Felts, a Maury High graduate, was named the second alternate in singles. Schaefer was the seventh alternate.
COLLEGE MEN’S TENNIS
Veritas grad among NCAA D-III favorites
Vuk Vuksanovic, a Tufts senior who grew up in Montenegro and graduated from Veritas Collegiate Academy in Chesapeake, was named to the 32-man NCAA singles championship field, as well as the 16-tandem doubles bracket alongside Javier Gonzalez. Like the women’s tourney, men’s individual play will start May 24 at Claremont Mudd Scripps.
Vuksanovic is ranked second in D-III singles and is third in doubles with Gonzalez.
First, Vuksanovic will lead third-ranked Tufts in the team tournament. The Jumbos received a bye to Saturday’s round of 32 and will face the victor of today’s match between Goucher and Rhode Island College.
CNU, which won its first Coast-To-Coast title last weekend for its first conference championship since 2017, climbed to 17th in the team rankings despite not getting a berth in the 44-team NCAA field because the C2C tourney contained only four teams.
