Before the start of the 2025 NCAA Baseball season, I had an opportunity to chat with several NCAA Head Coaches and players about their upcoming season. One of those head coaches was John Harvell, the HC of the Christopher Newport University Captains baseball team. Christopher Newport is located in Newport News, about a 40 minute ride from my home in Virginia Beach. Coach Harvell was excited about the prospects and players for his 2025 Captains schedule and emailed me a detailed prospectus, which I shared here on my blog. Coach also invited me to Captains Field, the CNU home field, and to come down and say Hi before a game. And yesterday, Rachel and I did just that.

After taking the mostly under construction Route 64W over the HRBT, which is also under construction, traffic eased up a bit as we passed Hampton and entered Newport News. If you are traveling west on Route 64, pay attention to the split in the road where the Naval base exit pitches to the left and Route 64W pitches to the right. Tough spot for visitors to our area trying to navigate through that! Anyway, after exiting in Newport News and passing our favorite farmer’s market (Games), taking a left onto the campus of CNU, then a slow but steady ride through campus, we arrived in the parking lot behind Captains Field. There in the parking lot were two sets of tailgating parents and fans – one for CNU and one for the United States Coast Guard Academy. Okay, that’s a new one but pretty cool to see in person.

After maneuvering through the CNU tailgaters, Rachel and I headed up to the baseball field area, passing the large brick CNU Baseball sign. There were a few baseballs in the flower area, which I left just in case they were left in memory of someone. Normally, I will snag a foul ball or two from a game I attend, but this time it didn’t feel right. So, I left them there for whatever purpose they were to serve.

The gate next to the left field perimeter was open and the sidewalk leading up to the bleachers was clear as day. Rachel and I found some seats in the bleachers and I walked down to introduce myself to HC John Harvell. He was just about to line the home plate area and we chatted for a bit on the upcoming game, and that he was down a few starters for the game, so he was nervously optimistic about his chances against a talented US Coast Guard team. John was great and I thanked him for his time and let him go about his business getting his team and his field ready to play.

As the game got closer to first pitch, a decent crowd was building at Captains Field. The US Coast Guard Academy family of fans really traveled well and in big numbers. The US Coast Guard Academy is located in New London, CT, so not exactly around the corner for thee folks. Same could be said for the home team CNU Captains fans. The bleachers were filling in nicely and the standing section, set aside for the “pacer parents” was also filling up. Wednesday afternoon was an ideal weather day for Spring baseball, even though technically we are still in Winter season. Mostly clear skies, gentle to steady wind blowing in (straight in at times) from CF, plenty of sunshine, no humidity whatsoever – you just dream about days like this in December when there is 50 feet of snow on the ground!

I popped over to the concession stand and asked if there was a player roster or program. A CNU parent heard me and directed me to a box right behind where I was sitting. Inside the box was a large set of free programs for the game. Nice touch and old school, I love that kind of stuff at college games.

As game time was just minutes away, a series of military jet planes flew over Captains Field. With so many military bases around Hampton Roads, who knows where the planes came from or where they were going or what they were doing. It still amazes me every time I see one fly over, it just feels so patriotic to see them in action. And then, we had the playing of our national anthem, which always makes me feel patriotic. And with the US Coast Guard Academy and their families in attendance, many of them wearing military veteran hats, the national anthem just felt even more special yesterday. I stood and saluted with my hand over my heart and took the whole scene in. Pretty cool moment.

And then it was game time. The CNU Captains started LHP Ryan Morrison, a JR from Chantilly, VA. The US Coast Guard Academy Bears countered with a leftie of their own, Freshman John DiMarsico from Severna Park, MD. Both Morrison and DiMarsico ended up pitching the entire 5 innings I was at the game, although the two pitches had different outcomes on the mound. CNU’s Morrison pitched well, he got a little snake bit by his defense, especially with 2 outs and runners on base. DiMarsico was more in command of his 5 innings on the mound, although CNU did get him for 6 hits and 3 runs. I think both pitchers threw the ball very well and both could have ended up with the W under different circumstances.

As I typically do at games, I move around from behind home plate to various vantage spots during a game. I like to watch the game from different views and angles. So, around the 3rd inning, I hopped from the CNU section (behind the third base dugout) to the US Coast Guard section (pretty much everywhere else, but specifically behind the first base dugout). I got some great views of the fans, the play on the field, some closeups of pitcher vs. hitter, and in general was just really loving the beautiful Newport News weather.

No home runs were hit, the wind was just too strong for any kind of carry out and over the fences on Wednesday. Plus, it never let up and was heading straight into the field from center heading straight for home plate. Despite no home runs, there were a ton of hard hit balls by both teams. For the game, the two teams combined for 24 hits, so they were definitely putting the ball in play. A timely hit single with runners on base is just as important in my book than a towering home run. Home runs don’t have to account for your entire production if you have solid hitters that can put the ball in play on a consistent basis.

After watching an inning or so with the US Coast Guard fans, I found Rachel sitting comfortably on a grassy area behind the third base dugout. We watched a few more batters and then headed for the exits at or around the start of the top of the 6th inning. At that particular point in the game, the score was 8-3, US Coast Guard up. But, as it has happened many times before, the final score does not always end the way the first part of the game would dictate. So, I remained optimistic that the home town Captains would be up to the challenge and mount a comeback. I would wait until later to check the score, which unfortunately did not go the CNU Captains way. Final score from Captains Field – US Coast Guard Bears 12 – CNU Captains 4.

It was an awesome afternoon of baseball at Christopher Newport University’s Captains Field. The home team CNU Captains faced the United States Coast Guard Academy (New London, CT – I know that town) on a beautiful Spring like (still Winter) afternoon with blue skies, a breeze blowing in from CF, military planes flying overhead, and absolutely no humidity to speak of. It was great meeting and chatting with CNU’s Head Coach John Harvell about the upcoming game and baseball there at CNU. Rachel and I had awesome seats for a pretty exciting game, featuring two very solid LHP’s who each threw 5 innings of work on Wednesday. Despite the loss on Wednesday, the CNU Captains are still playing above .500 ball at 9-8, with a ton of games to be played in 2025. Overall, it was a very warm and friendly and exciting Newport News baseball experience there at Christopher Newport University, home of the Captains baseball team.