North Greenville sweeps their World Series games on Thursday.
The Crusaders have one more mountain to climb in order to reach the National Championship Series. They also know who they would be playing if they get there.
Oklahoma Wesleyan has already secured the berth from the other side of the bracket to play in the Series. The Eagles are 3-0 and already hold the tiebreaker against #1 seed Southeastern. There is no way at this point they can be prevented from advancing.
North Greenville, after beating The Masters College in a classic 3-2 contest at Prasco, will face King College tomorrow at 1 for a berth in the Series. This will be the 5th meeting this season between the two clubs, with all four games won by the Crusaders- though they were all very close contests.
King College is currently 2-0, and are playing a pool game against Mt Vernon tonight. Win or lose they they can make the Series with a win over NGU. Here's how it works: If King wins tonight, both teams are 3-0 and would fight for the final bid in the Championship Round. If King loses, though they are 2-1, a win over North Greenville would give them identical records. If this scenario played out, King would hold the tie breaker by virtue of their head to head victory.
All the Crusaders must do is win tomorrow to play for a second consecutive NCCAA National Championship on Friday night and Saturday.
How did North Greenville force their way into the pool deciding game?
They remained unbeaten in the late afternoon meeting with The Masters Mustangs behind an exceptional outing from Mike Benjamin. Benjamin worked in and out of jams throughout the game, and stepped up when it mattered most. In a microcosm of the entire game he battled The Masters best hitter Spencer Downs in a 3-2 count that in essence decided the contest. After fouling off pitch after pitch, Downs was caught looking to end the 6th inning, leaving the tying and go-ahead runs aboard. It was one of numerous times Benjamin left runners in scoring position--even leaving the bases loaded earlier in the game.
The key offensive contributers in the day's second game included Adam Taylor who doubled and Foulk who just prior to that drew a base on balls, setting the table for Derek Fulmer's two-run double which put NGU on the board first. Those two hits came in the 1st inning and gave North Greenville a 2-0 lead. North Greenville would only muster one more hit in the baseball game, but boy was it a big one. Taylor Holifield, after being involved in several key moments in NGU's post-season wins, finally broke through with his first hit of the World Series. It was a solo HR to left field, which would turn out to be the game winner.
Excellent pitching and timely hits have been the story for the Crusaders so far this post-season. In the latest game, NGU made the most of their opportunities with three runs off only three hits. North Greenville pitching held down a Masters offense that had scored 11 and 13 runs in their previous two contests.
Coach Henson is still meeting with his staff to determine the pitching plan for tomorrow's critical final pool game. I will pass that information along as soon as I receive it...
Hang with us...The Crusaders are very much alive, and as yet they are still unbeaten in two years (8 total games) at the World Series! I should have more posts tonight, and we will be back online at 12:45 PM tomorrow.
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