NGU Baseball: Powering ahead to begin the season
Brayden Allen, Staff Writer
The spring season means one thing at North Greenville, the arrival of baseball season. For the third time since 2020 the Crusaders have gotten off to an impressive start, winning 70% of their games but the road to get to this point has not been easy.
The team opened up the season with an impressive 2-1 series win on the road against out of conference opponent Mississippi College before going back on the road to play three games in Greenwood, South Carolina. North Greenville defeated Lander in game one and three but suffered their second loss of the season at the hands of in-conference opponent Francis Marion, a team the Crusaders would later face in Tigerville.
North Greenville returned to Tigerville for their home opener against Queens University. Sophomore Pat Monteith got things started with a single in the second inning, scoring one for the Crusaders. Redshirt Junior Marek Chlup batted in two more in the third, extending the lead to three.
After giving up two off a home run in the sixth, the Crusaders responded with a home run of their own off the bat of Redshirt Junior Jordan Holiday putting North Greenville back on top four to two. One final run would be added in the same inning off a sacrifice fly-out by Redshirt Junior Cory Bivins securing the 5-2 victory.
Next North Greenville got back on the road to take on Erskine College in the first in conference series of the season. The Crusaders won game one 8-6 before dropping game two 7-4. A grand slam in the sixth inning of game three, would give the team a 14-7 victory.
The Crusaders headed back to Tigerville for a key matchup against nationally ranked Newberry. Redshirt Junior John Micheal Faile would lead things off with a homerun in the first inning. Faile, who is a leader on the team, understood the importance of this game.
“It was awesome,” Faile said. “Newberry is always a good team and we know that we have to play well to beat them.”
After North Greenville added two more runs in the fourth inning, Falie hit a second home run in the fifth inning. Holiday added a home run of his own while Sophomore Jax Cash hit his first of two doubles on the day.
By the end of the fifth inning the Crusaders led the Wolves 11 to three.
Holiday sealed the deal for the team with his second home run on the day in the sixth inning including a single in the seventh, scoring two. North Greenville beat Newberry by a final of 14 to five. This was a crucial win for the Crusaders.
“Our offense is so dangerous, you never really know who is going to pop off and have a big day,” Faile said. “Anytime that I can contribute and help our team win, it feels great.”
“Man, it was awesome,” Cash said. “Anything I can do to help us come out with a win is great to me. It was great to have the guys behind me, letting me know they had confidence in me to get the job done and I love coming through for them.”
The challenge for North Greenville came in the rematch with Francis Marion.
The Crusaders took an early 3-0 lead in the second inning, then adding another in the sixth. The Patriots responded by scoring five runs in the seventh inning before taking game one six to four.
North Greenville looked to bounce back on Saturday in the double header.
Chlup and Bivins each led with home runs as the team recorded 13 total hits in game two. Redshirt Sophomore Reece Fields pitched five innings, striking out seven batters as the Crusaders took game two 15 to six.
It all came down to game three.
Francis Marion took an early 4-0 lead in the first inning before adding two more in the second and third. North Greenville responded by adding one to the scoreboard as Senior Ethan Stringer came into score.
Things began to turn for the Crusaders beginning in the sixth inning as Holiday homered to make the score 7-2 going into the final two innings.
North Greenville added one before Bivins would homer, scoring three more, tying up the score at seven. Stringer gave the team the lead with a solo home run to finish off the eighth inning.
The Crusaders would take game three by a final of 8-7, winning the series.
“It was a full team effort,” Faile said. “The offense got rolling in the first game, and our pitching did their job. Going into the second game, we were confident and ready to play. We got off to a slow start, but everyone stayed composed. Nobody panicked, and we all believed that we were going to win that game.”
*Featured Image: Photo courtesy of NGU Athletics.
