From These Roots

North Greenville has consistently had a baseball team since 1953. Prior to 1953, the school fielded teams off and on, but it was not consistent. We are not sure when it was built, but there was a crude baseball field down the hill from Neves Hall that was completely redone in 1954. That year, a backstop, outfield fence, and some seats were added to the new field.

            In 1981, a new multi-purpose athletic field was added to the campus near the baseball field. In honor of Russell Ashmore and his wife Nelle B. Ashmore, the new field was named the Richard C. and Nelle Blakely Ashmore, Sr. Athletic Field. Mr. Ashmore was a charter member of the North Greenville Board of Advisors. Mrs. Ashmore was a North Greenville alumna, and the couple had a history of financially supporting the school. The dedication service for Ashmore Field was held October 15, 1981, with the Ashmores and their sons, Russell Jr. and Richard in attendance. Discussions were had around this same time to update the baseball field, but these plans were put on hold.

            The baseball field at North Greenville was not regulation size and this was causing a problem for the baseball program. While the baseball team was able to practice on the field, their games had to be played in Greer. The Ashmore family agreed to study the issue and present a proposal to the board. Trustees Joe Cooper and Russell Ashmore suggested that instead of making the current baseball field work, a new one should be built instead. According to their estimates, a new field would be roughly $2,000 cheaper than repurposing the old field to meet regulations. The trustees decided to grade Ashmore Field to make it usable as both a soccer field and a baseball field. Soccer games would be played in the outfield of the baseball field. The funding for this project would come from friends and benefactors of the school.

Construction began in 1983 and the hope was that the new baseball field would be completed in time for the 1985 season. Unfortunately, construction was not completed in time for the first home game of the season so the game had to be rescheduled, but the remainder of the home games were played on schedule. The old baseball field was repurposed into a softball field. After the first softball season on the old baseball field, the field was reversed to face the opposite direction.

            On February 19, 1997, another dedication service was held with a new brick sign for “Ashmore Baseball Field”. The name was in honor of the brothers Richard A. Ashmore and Russell C. Ashmore, Jr. and in memory of their parents Russell Ashmore, Sr. and Nelle B. Ashmore. The Ashmore brothers owned and operated Ashmore Brothers, Inc. in Greer, South Carolina. The ceremony took place just before a baseball game between the North Greenville Mounties and the Mars Hill Lions.

            Updates to Ashmore Field were needed by the late 1990s to meet NCAA standards. Fundraising by the athletic department began in 1999 and in 2000, a new 3,000 square foot clubhouse opened named Cornerstone Clubhouse. According to former baseball coach Tim Nihart, the name was chosen because “The Lord really blessed us, and we named it the Cornerstone Clubhouse because Christ is the cornerstone of everything we do that will last. He used so many people to donate funds and bring everything together.” A scoreboard and batting cages were also added to the field around this time. In 2009, a wind guard was placed around the outfield fence and the batting cages were expanded.

            The largest changes to Ashmore Field came between 2018 and 2019 as a part of a multi-phase project. The first phase included reworking the playing surface at the cost of $1.2 million. Included in this reworking were the installation of artificial turf with a standard dirt mound, new outfield fencing, backstop fencing, scoreboard, bullpen, and batting cages. This phase was covered by private donations including the lead gift from Bea Dillard of Spartanburg in memory of her husband, Ray Dillard. The Dillards were longtime supporters of North Greenville and Mr. Dillard was a former trustee of the school. Mr. Dillard also played baseball for the City of Spartanburg for many years. The field was named Ray and Bea Dillard Field in their honor.

Ashmore Field was renamed Ashmore Park to include the entire baseball complex. This phase was completed in early 2018, making NGU the first college or university in South Carolina to have an all-turf baseball field. A dedication service was held April 14, 2018, just before a doubleheader against Limestone College.

            The second phase of the Ashmore Park project began in 2019 and included a President’s Box suite, a hospitality/media building, an entry plaza, and a 300-seat stadium structure directly behind home plate. Groundbreaking for the new stadium was held on February 9, 2019, just before a Crusaders baseball doubleheader against Newberry College. George E. Bomar donated $600,000 to the school to help fund the second phase.

Mr. Bomar was born a short distance from the Tigerville campus on Camp Creek Road in 1934. Having served on many boards, he was a leader in Greenville County and was chairman of Greenville County Council, the first president of the SC Association of Counties from Greenville County, and in 1995 was awarded the state’s highest honor given to a civilian, the Order of the Palmetto. He and his wife, Barbara, were longtime financial supporters of North Greenville and Mr. Bomar served on NGU’s Council of Advisors. In his honor, the stadium was named the George Bomar Family Stadium at Ashmore Park. The dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new stadium was held February 29, 2020, just before a baseball game against Emmanuel College. At the time, the North Greenville Crusader baseball team was ranked number one in the NCAA Division II.