Christopher Newport University is in position now to accomplish the latter after achieving the former, with a 4-2 defeat of defending champion Eastern Connecticut State University in an elimination game of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Series Monday at Fox Cities Stadium.

Catcher Scotty George came up with the bases loaded and one away in the first, and gave himself a pep-talk.

“I just told myself, this is the college world series, you better straighten yourself out,” George said.

With a 1-1 count, Eastern starter Jeremy Hall threw a curveball outside that George smacked into right center to put two runs on the board.

Captains leadoff man Jeremy Elliot sparked an 11-hit attack on Eastern starter Jeremy Hall early on, when he opened the game with a base hit. The Captains put three scores on the board before Eastern had a chance to come up to bat.

“I think getting that early lead helped me relax a little bit,” Elliot said.

The centerfielder had been struggling thus far in the tournament, hitting an abysmal .077 (1-13) before collecting three hits on Monday.

Staked to an early lead, Christopher Newport starter Brandon Haywood was able to settle into a little groove. He pitched seven solid innings, allowing just two runs on five hits with two strikeouts and a pair of walks.

His mixed bag of pitches, which relied heavily on several timely sharp outside curveballs and frequent changes of speed, forced the Warriors into hitting 12 pop-ups, and he never allowed multiple hits in an inning.

“Scotty [George] called a great game,” Haywood said of his battery mate. “He studied a lot of videotape, and knew what these guys were going for.”

“I just threw whatever he called.”

Third-year head coach John Harvell was not unaware of the similarities between his team’s last meeting with the Warriors. A year ago on the tournament’s fourth day, the Captains defeated eventual champion Eastern 6-5 when shortstop Ted Tignor hit an RBI double in the ninth inning.

The Captains then had to defeat Marietta that same day to advance to the championship game, but dropped a 9-6 decision.

“I thought about it a lot,” Harvell said. “It feels an awful lot better being on this end, for sure.”

With the current trophy holder out of the picture, Harvell’s – and his team’s sights – are set on the school’s first championship.

“We are going to make sure we leave everything on the field Tuesday,” Harvell said. “If a team beats us twice to win that title, they will have had to earn it.”

Harvell’s squad – an at-large entry in this year’s tournament field – will bring a 35-7 record into a Tuesday showdown with Chapman University.

Eastern looked to be in position to tie or win the game and stave off elimination in the ninth. With one away, the Warriors loaded the bases off Jason Brown’s relief work. Leadoff man Morgan Thompson came to the plate looking to drive in at least a run, and ripped a 1-1 shot right into the glove of Captains first baseman John Corbin, who quickly stepped on first for the double play and the win.

“There is a fine line between being a champion,” Eastern head coach Bill Holowaty said. “Today, that line just wasn’t in our favor.”

Little East Conference champion Eastern Connecticut wrapped up its ninth trip to the Championship Series with a 2-2 showing, and a final 2003 mark of 35-7. In the series, the Warriors opened with a 6-3 win over DeSales University, but fell to Anderson University 3-2 on day two.