The road to another national championship for Christopher Newport and Virginia Wesleyan will either continue or come to an end at home.
For the second year in a row, the Captains and Marlins will face each other in the Super Regionals of the NCAA Division III Tournament this weekend. It's a meeting of the last two national champions, with CNU taking home the title in 2022 and the Marlins claiming the throne in 2021.
"It's kind of funny how we're playing them again," said CNU pitcher Kate Alger. "It's just super competitive out on the field. Even if we play them in the regular season, it's always super competitive."
"Now, you have to win to move forward."
Both teams met earlier in the regular season, splitting a doubleheader back in March. Christopher Newport beat Virginia Wesleyan in last year's round of 16, taking the series-clinching game two with a walk-off three-run home run from Meredith Bickner.
It's the third instance since 2018 that the Captains and Marlins will play each other in the NCAA Tournament. VWU ended CNU's season in 2018 in the NCAA Regionals, beating them twice in the round en route to a national championship.
The Marlins have won three titles since 2017.
"We've played each other so many times in such high-stakes situations," said VWU head coach Brandon Elliott. "Unfortunately, both of us can't go to Texas, but one of us is going to get through this weekend."
The first game of the series begins Friday afternoon at 2:00 at Captains Park in Newport News.
