North Greenville Ready for Division II Baseball National Championship Finals
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CARY, N.C. — For the first time in program history the North Greenville baseball team will compete in the NCAA Division II Baseball National Championship FInals. The Crusaders, who are the top seed in the field of eight, will face No. 8 West Chester in the first round on Sunday, June 5 at 6 p.m. at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
North Greenville is the first Conference Carolinas program to make the championship field since Coker in 2013. The Crusaders are one of four programs making their first appearance in the finals while just one team in the field has a national title.
The Crusaders enter the double-elimination tournament with a 50-10 record with a team batting average of .332 and a team ERA of 3.67. The offense features eight players hitting .300 or better led by John Michael Faile (.414) and 2022 Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Marek Chlup (.402). The duo has combined for 153 RBIs and 125 runs this season. The staff is led by starters Noah Takac (6-0, 1.72 ERA) and Reece Fields (9-2, 4.20) and closer Tristen Hudson (4-1, 2.01, 5 saves).
Their first-round opponent, the Golden Rams of West Chester, enters the field with a 34-13 record with a .292 team batting average and a 4.35 ERA. The offense is led by Mike Ferrara, who has a .365 average with a 1.114 OPS. He has scored 45 runs and driven in 64. The pitching staff is led by Braeden Fausnaught who is 9-2 with a 3.30 ERA in 95.1 innings this season with 121 strikeouts to 38 walks.
The eight-team double-elimination tournament is split into two, four-team brackets. The Crusaders and Golden Rams winner will face the winner of No. 4 Southern New Hampshire and No. 5 Angelo State. The other half of the bracket features No.2 Point Loma against No. 7 Illinois-Springfield and No. 3 Southern Arkansas versus No. 6 Rollins.
Tickets for the championship are free of charge. Fans can also watch the games live online at NCAA.com.