Student athletes compete over spring break
Brayden Allen, Staff Writer
Spring break has finally arrived on the campus of North Greenville University which means students have returned home for a week of relaxation and recharge. But not every student gets the break to themselves.
Many athletes will continue to compete on and off campus this week. They look to improve their team records and achieve a victory as the spring sports season continues on.
The Crusader golf teams are on the road to start out the week as they travel to compete in tournaments at local in-state schools. The men travel to Greenwood, South Carolina to take part in the Bearcat Invitational hosted by Lander while the women travel to Spartanburg, South Carolina to take part in the Converse Spring Invitational.
The men are coming off a 15th place finish at the Hurricane Invitational in Albany, Georgia, hosted by Georgia Southwestern State. The women are also coming off a 15th place finish at the Battle at Hilton Head in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Coming off a crushing sweep of Chowan University, the North Greenville baseball team is back on the road on Tuesday as they travel to take on North Georgia before returning home this weekend for a three game series against in-conference opponent Belmont Abbey. In the three game series against Chowan, the Crusaders scored a total of 39 runs as they swept the Hawks.
In game one the Crusaders put up 12 runs on 13 hits as the lineup continued to produce. Redshirt junior Cory Bivins led the way with a two run double in the fifth as the team took the lead.
Senior Ethan Stringer and redshirt juniors Marek Chlup and Tanner Wells each produced runs off doubles of their own in the ninth. Junior Noah Tackc earned the win, pitching four innings with 2 strikeouts.
In game two redshirt sophomore Reece Fields started on the mound, pitching a complete game. He allowed just one run on five hits with 14 strikeouts.
In game three the North Greenville offense piled on the runs as the team scored a total of 24 runs on 22 hits. Redshirt junior John Micheal Falie led the way with three hits, including a home run, posting six RBIs.
The Crusaders look forward to traveling to North Georgia before returning back to Tigerville.
“With this week being spring break, we just need to stay locked in and focused on doing what we do best,” Tackc said. “We’re really hot right now. As long as we take it one day at a time and focus on getting better individually and collectively then everything else will fall into place.”
The North Greenville women’s lacrosse team heads to St. Augustine, Florida on Wednesday to take on Flagler College before heading to Daytona Beach on Saturday to take on Embry-Riddle. The Crusaders are 1-1 in the past two games coming off a 25-17 victory over the University of Charleston and a 10-11 loss to Barton College.
Coming off the loss the Crusaders have had a tough challenge so far this season but look to continue to improve as the season continues on.
“I think what’s important for us is to remember that while this was a tough loss, it doesn’t prevent us from succeeding in the future,” said senior Kira Hearns. “We’ll take this experience and continue to hone in on our areas of improvement while still keeping in mind that we need to do the simple things better. The season is far from over and it’s too early to count us out, we aren’t counting ourselves out so others shouldn’t either.”
The Crusader men’s lacrosse team heads to Montevallo, Alabama to take on the Falcons before returning home to face Palm Beach Atlantic. The team is coming off two thrilling wins over Embry-Riddle and Lander in Tigerville.
Against Embry-Riddle, North Greenville fought back, down 12-8 in the fourth quarter, to win in overtime 13-12. Sophomore Stephen Santini scored the tying goal with 51 seconds left while sophomore Devin Napoli scored the winning goal in overtime.
Facing Lander, the Crusaders would once again find themselves charging back after being down 10-8 in the third quarter. Napoli led the day with four total goals in the 15-14 victory over the Bearcats.
“Obviously these past two wins have been huge for us and started off our spring break nicely,” Napoli said. “Our next matchup is Montevallo in Alabama so we have Monday and Tuesday to prepare for them, whether it’s scouting or working on our own plays we are going to get better in some way shape or form.”
The North Greenville softball team wraps up the weekend as they travel to Mars Hill, North Carolina for a double header series against the Lions. The Crusaders are coming off an impressive sweep of Benedict College.
In game one of the series, senior Briana McRae would lead the day going five for six, recording four RBIs and scoring once. Senior Bailey Pace would pitch a complete game allowing just four runs and three walks, striking out five in the 7-4 victory.
Early hitting for both teams would define game two. Junior Hailey Wells pitched the final four innings, allowing just two hits and one walk, striking out four in the 8-7 victory.
Coming off the sweep of Benedict, the Crusaders look to do the same against Mars Hill.
“It was good getting a win against Benedict, we really needed it to help boost our confidence,” said Senior Morgan Hatchell. “Since we’re playing against Mars Hill we need to prepare for the type of pitching that they have as well as prepare mentally because we are a few games out from conference. We need to treat it like a conference game but not put too much pressure on ourselves and remember to have fun.”
