There’s a budding baseball dynasty in South Carolina and it’s not located in Clemson, Conway, or Columbia. If you want to find the current hot spot for baseball in the Palmetto State, travel up Highway 414 to Tigerville. That’s where Landon Powell has turned the Crusaders of North Greenville into a Division Two powerhouse. The former Gamecock and MLB catcher guided his team to its fourth straight Conference Carolinas championship this past weekend and has the Crusaders ranked #1 in Division Two by Collegiate Baseball. North Greenville is 45-8 on the year and as Powell says, a “slam dunk” to be the #1-seed in the Southeast Region and host a regional and perhaps a super regional.
Powell has compiled a team that is dangerous at the plate and on the mound. The Crusaders have a team batting average of .337 with 82 home runs and 519 runs scored. Meantime, his pitching staff has a 3.62 ERA, while holding opponents to just a .221 batting average against.
The postseason will be a challenge though for the Crusaders as they will be without their best player. John Michael Faile, a two time All-America, injured his knee in the conference tournament and will not be available for the postseason. That said, the Crusaders have uncovered a gem in Marek Chlup. The transfer from NC State and native of the Czech Republic, leads NGU in batting average (.415) and is tied for second on the team with 11 home runs.
Coach Powell joined #SportsTalk on Tuesday to recap the conference tournament and to preview the NCAA postseason. He also took a moment to reminisce about his days as a bullpen catcher, prior to his exceptional playing career.
