Palmetto State Baseball team of the week, Feb. 6-12: North Greenville

North Greenville (4-0 for the week) 
(beat Emory & Henry; went 3-0 vs. Mississippi College)

Coming off the NCAA Division II national championship of a season ago, coach Landon Powell's Crusaders find each game this season is one where the opponent is aiming to make a statement. So far, the statement being made by North Greenville is it likes being the King of DII.

The Crusaders ran their season-opening winning streak to seven games with four wins this week. NGU pushed its streak of come-from-behind wins to five before never trailing in taking the series finale with Mississippi College.

No opponent's lead appears safe.

 Some examples:
+ In the season-opening series in Houston, Arkansas Tech scored four runs in the top of the first and led 7-3 midway through the game: Final score: Crusaders, 11-9.
+ The next game Chico State led 4-0 after 5 1/2 innings. Cue a seven-run sixth and a 7-6 win.
+ A early 6-0 lead by Emory & Henry on Tuesday was swallowed up by an eigyht-run NGU third. Final score, 12-7.
+ Five-run innings and the fifth and sixth erased an early 3-0 deficit in Friday''s series-opener with Mississippi College. Final score: 13-7.
+ In  Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader, the Choctaws took an early 9-5 lead and were up 11-7 going to the ninth. John Michael Faile's two-out three-run double capped a five-run ninth for a 12-11 win.

Some of the biggest cogs of the national championship team are back, including sluggers Mark Chlup (.643) and Faile (.467, 2 HR, 13 RBI), the first Conference Carolinas player on the watchlist for the Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur player in the country. Throw in newcomers like Clemson transfer David Lewis (.381, 2, 8) and former USC player Jalen Vasquez (.350), and it's understandable how the Crusaders are averaging 10 runs per game.

That production has also allowed North Greenville to withstand some rocky pitching so far - the staff ERA is 5.61.

Counting the end of last season, NGU is on a 12-game winning streak.

Up next for the Crusaders: after a midweek off, conference play begins Friday with a home series against Barton.

Also considered|
Bob Jones (2-1)
Erskine (3-1)
Florence-Darlington Tech 3-0)
Morris (1-0)
Newberry (2-0)
USC Beaufort (2-0)
USC Lancaster (2-0) - improved to 6-0 overall

Previous winners
Jan. 23-29: Spartanburg Methodist
Jan. 30-Feb. 5: Limestone