North Greenville Prepared to Defend NCAA Division II National Championship Title
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CARY, N.C. — The defending national champions, North Greenville, will defend their title at the NCAA Division II Baseball National Championship Finals. The Crusaders, who are the two-seed in the field of eight, will face No. 7 Augustana (S.D.) in the first round on Sunday, June 4 at 6 p.m. at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
The Crusaders, who are looking to be the first team to repeat since Tampa did so in 2006-07, are one of four programs making their second straight championship appearance.
The Crusaders enter the double-elimination tournament with a 49-9 record with a team batting average of .330, a team ERA of 4.12 and a tournament-best 109 home runs this season. The offense features eight players with at least 100 at-bats hitting .300 or better led by Pat Monteith (.377) and David Lewis (.373). The duo has combined for 112 RBIs and 140 runs this season. The staff is led by starter Reece Fields (13-3, 4.84 ERA) and closer Michael Rodriguez (5-0, 1.67, 5 saves).
Their first-round opponent, the Vikings of Augustana (S.D.), enters the field with a 47-19 record with a .291 team batting average and a 4.25 ERA. The offense is led by Jack Hines (.358 avg., 53 R, 43 RBIs) and Drey Dirksen (.345 avg., 62 R, 61 RBIs). The pitching staff is led by Caleb Saari (6-4, 2.84 ERA) and Seth Miller (11-1, 2.96) and closer Adam Diedrich who has 14 saves and is 3-1 with a 2.32 ERA.
The eight-team double-elimination tournament is split into two, four-team brackets. The Crusaders and Vikings winner will face the winner of No. 3 Angelo State and No. 6 Southern New Hampshire. The other half of the bracket features No. 1 Millersville against No. 8 University of Indianapolis and No. 4 Rollins versus No. 5 Cal State San Bernardino.
Tickets are available here. Fans can also watch the games live online at
NCAA.com.