NGU baseball walks off their fall season
Andrew Copp, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of North Greenville Sports Network
The 2025 North Greenville University fall baseball world series concluded Thursday, Nov. 14 with team red defeating team black 7-6 to take the championship in four games. The tradition is a normal fall activity for collegiate baseball teams, seen as a fitting way to end the fall season before getting into full swing in the spring.
Sophomore Lane McGaha said about the series, “It’s been really fun, just competing against our guys has been really fun. Seeing guys step out of their shell now and stepping up in the movement, seeing who’s gonna be a big dog in the moment has really been the coolest part.”
In game four, Samford Halcomb was the big dog. After Josh Foulks reached second on an outfield error and team black decided to intentionally walk Thomas Powell, team black was able to get two outs on a failed bunt and called strike three. Halcomb came up to the plate and on a 2-2 count, hit a ground ball towards first base and was able to bring the winning run home on a mishandled fielding play by team black (click here to watch the finish and hear the electric call from junior Gary Wenzel).
The teams are selected by four upperclassmen captains, chosen by the coaches. Two take each team and pick their teams from the remaining players. These captains play an integral role in coaching the team, as the coaches take a backseat from coaching to watch the playoff unfold. Head coach Landon Powell explained his thoughts on the series.
He said, “It’s great for me as a coach and our other coaches, it’s a good opportunity to evaluate because we get to kind of see them in some different situations and how they handle, you know, like the fall world series gets ratcheted up a little bit with intensity, because there’s so much on the line.”
For the players, the fall world series is not just another scrimmage. The competition is turned up and players treat it like the real world series. This was made obvious when, following the winning run, team red rushed the field as if they had just won the true fall classic.
NGU baseball hopes to have many more field rushes this season. Expectations are high, set by the precedent of the past 10 years of strong success since Powell came to Tigerville. The team has won five conference carolinas regular season championships, five conference carolinas tournament championships, gone to the NCAA division II national tournament eight times, won one national championship in the past 10 years and look to continue their success this season.
Powell said, “Now that we’ve won a national championship, that’s kind of always going to be the goal, you know, because now we know we’re capable of it, right? So I think our team and our coaches, players, they all want to win a national championship.”
They are not only focused on the field though. Powell wants to develop the team off the field, in the locker room, on the buses, in the classroom, to be great husbands, co-workers, friends, fathers and men overall. The goal is for players to follow NGU’s vision for all students to become transformational leaders in church and society.
Powell says, “They’re not all gonna play in the Major Leagues. I mean, most likely none of them are, but they’re all probably going to have families and be a part of the community, be part of this society.
NGU baseball’s regular season begins Jan. 30 in Houston, Texas at Minute Maid park, the home of Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros. They will play three of the other top division II teams in the nation and hope to make a statement in space city before returning to Tigerville for their first home game Feb. 1.
