North Greenville to Host Columbus State in NCAA Division II Southeast Super Regional
SUPER REGIONAL TOURNAMENT PAGE
TIGERVILLE, S.C. — It was 362 days ago that the Cougars of Columbus State ended North Greenville’s season in the 2021 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional at Ray & Bea Dillard Field at Ashmore Park. On Friday, the teams will meet in the 2022 NCAA Division II Southeast Super Regional will the winner of the three-game series advancing to the 2022 Division II Baseball Championship in Cary, North Carolina.
North Greenville, the region’s top seed and national No. 1, will have to do something it has never done in program history to make it to the program’s first ever championship…beat Columbus State. The Cougars are 3-0 against the Crusaders, all three meetings coming since 2018 in the postseason.
The No. 6 team nationally and the three-seed in the region, Columbus State won last season’s meeting 10-9 thanks to a five-run second inning and two runs in the top of the ninth. CSU returns eight players from last year’s lineup while five names remain the same for the Crusaders.
The Cougars are led offensively by Robert Brooks who is hitting .394 this season with a 1.288 OPS. He has scored 73 runs and driven in 83 with 21 home runs to his name. Six other CSU players have an average above .300 and six have at least 10 home runs. On the mound CSU is led by Peyton Burton who is 4-1 with a 2.01 ERA over 40.1 innings pitched with five saves. Devin Dudal (8-5, 4.43) and Noah Windhorst (8-3, 4.63) led the team in innings as both have pitched in over 80 innings this season while Colton Joyner leads the team with a 10-1 record in 67.1 innings with a 4.95 ERA.
North Greenville’s offense is led by 2022 Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Marek Chlup who is hitting .412 this season with 62 runs scored and 71 RBIs with 12 home runs. The Crusaders have 10 players hitting above .300 and seven that have 10 or more home runs.
On the mound though is where NGU has shined this season as the staff has pitched to a 3.65 ERA which is 10th-best in Division II. Closer Tristen Hudson leads the team with a 1.46 ERA in 37 innings with starter Noah Takac just behind him with a 6-0 record and a 1.78 ERA over 55.2 innings. Conference Carolinas Pitcher of the Year Reece Fields is 9-2 with a 3.96 ERA in 84 innings this season while Brent Herlong saved the Crusaders' season in regional play and enters with a 7-1 record and a 2.03 ERA over 53.1 innings.
A lot can happen in the three-game series, but whatever happens, it is sure to be some fun baseball this weekend. The series begins on Friday, May 27 at 3 p.m. with game two scheduled for May 28 at 12 p.m. with game three, if necessary, to follow at 4 p.m. Live video of the game is available
here, live stats are
here and other tournament information including ticket costs is available
here.