Tigerville, SC - The North Greenville Crusaders advanced to uncharted territory this afternoon at Ray & Bea Dillard Field by winning the deciding game of the Southeast Super Regional Tournament against the Columbus State Cougars. After losing the first game of the day in walk-off fashion with a final score of 4-3, NGU bounced back quickly to dominate the second game with a final score of 13-3 to advance to the Division II Baseball Championship Tournament in Cary, North Carolina.
Noah Takac pitched a quality 7.0 innings in game one. After Columbus State took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 4th, North Greenville responded with three runs in the top of the 5th with a three-run home run by
Pat Monteith. Things would remain the same going into the 9th inning. With
Tristen Hudson on the mound to go for the save, Columbus State would shock the Crusaders with a walk-off three run shot to left center to even up the series to force a second game.
Michael Rodriguez took the mound to start game two. North Greenville would make quick work of things, putting together a six-run bottom of the 1st including a three-run home run by
Pat Monteith. Columbus State fought back with two runs in the 2nd, but would score just one more run in the game as NGU continued to pull away throughout the remainder of the game, scoring a run in the 4th, three runs in the 5th, and three more in the 7th including a two-run shot by
Ethan Stringer.
Brent Herlong with close things out by pitching 2.2 shutout innings to send North Greenville to the Championship Tournament.
Matthew Taubensee was the winning pitcher. The victory was North Greenville's 50th of the season, a single-season program record.
Results
- Game 1 - NGU 3 / CSU 4 | Game 2 - NGU 13 / CSU 3
- Location: Ray & Bea Dillard Field / Tigerville, SC
- Records: NGU 50-10 / CSU 46-13
Individual
- Pat Monteith put together a solid day, posting four hits with two home runs and a total of six RBIs.
- Ethan Stringer also finished the day with four hits while recording a home run, three RBIs, and three runs.
- Noah Takac pitched 7.0 quality innings, allowing just one run on four hits, three walks, and two hit batters while striking out five.
Upcoming
- For the first time in program history, North Greenville will return to action in the Division II Baseball Championship Tournament, which will begin on Saturday, June 4th in Cary, North Carolina.