May 4, 2025

LR’s crooked numbers end C-N’s SAC Tournament run

No. 18 Carson-Newman (37-17) saw its South Atlantic Conference Tournament run come to an end on Sunday afternoon, suffering a 12-3 loss to #9 Lenoir-Rhyne (43-10).

Lenoir-Rhyne

43-10

Carson-Newman

37-17

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Lenoir-Rhyne	0	0	0	1	0	5	0	5	1	12	16	2
Carson-Newman	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	7	0

VIDEO: Tom Griffin Interview

HICKORY, N.C. – No. 18 Carson-Newman (37-17) saw its South Atlantic Conference Tournament run come to an end on Sunday afternoon, suffering a 12-3 loss to #9 Lenoir-Rhyne (43-10).

"Christian (Henderson) did a great job, but you know that lineup," Carson-Newman head coach Tom Griffin said. "There is a reason they are one of the best hitting teams in DII this season. You have to take advantage of some of the opportunities that you have because you know they (LR) are going to get theirs. Sometimes you just tip your cap because it is good hitting and you make good pitches and that is baseball. We knew this would be a challenge, but we got to this point which is good. That showed a lot for us as a team moving forward."

LR's win is the third straight postseason win over the Eagles.

Carson-Newman began the scoring in the opening inning. After an error started the inning, Logan Floyd (Adairsville, Ga.) ripped a double down the line to score Ryan Jenkins (Winter Haven, Fla.) and C-N led 1-0 in the first. Floyd's base hit extended his hitting streak to 24 games and his on-base streak to 33 games.

After a one-out walk in the first, Christian Henderson (Clarksville, Tenn.) settled in very well and retired the next eight hitters he faced and kept the Bears off the scoreboard for the first three innings.

LR's first hit of the game was a loud one. Owen Blackledge led off the fourth inning with a solo home run over the right field wall to tie the game.

C-N would have chances to go back in front. There were runners at first and third with one out, but nothing came of the situation.

An excellent throw to the plate kept LR off the board in the fifth inning. Alex Khan singled to left field but Eli Willen was thrown out at the plate by Braxton Smith (Cleveland, Tenn.) for the final out of the frame.

It seemed as if that momentum would propel C-N back in front in the bottom of the inning. A hit by pitch and a walk had runners on first and second with one out and Floyd coming up. Unfortunately, the sophomore's hard hit ball was right to the second baseman who started an inning-ending double play.

From that point on it was all Bears. Three consecutive hits would plate the first three runs in the sixth inning. With two outs, the margin would extend to five as Willien took a changeup to right field to make it a 6-1 game.

For a third straight frame, C-N would put multiple runners on base early in the inning. Three consecutive singles loaded the bases with one out, but the Eagles failed to come up with a timely hit and left everyone on base.

LR would use another five-run inning to put the game out of reach. It scored five runs on five hits in the eighth, all of which scored with two outs.

Carson-Newman's final two runs of the game would come on one swing of the bat. In a pinch-hit effort, Tanner Kilgore (Kingsport, Tenn.) laced a single into left field to score two runs with the bases loaded.

Henderson gave C-N six innings on the mound in his postseason debut. He scattered eight hits and allowed six runs to score in his third loss of the year.

LR starting pitcher William Girardi went a season-long 7.1 innings and recorded seven strikeouts to record his 10th win of the year.

The Eagles must wait a week to find out whether or not their 37-win season will be enough to earn a NCAA Tournament bid. It's the program's fourth-most wins in a season and second-most under Griffin.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what happens," Griffin said. "I do believe they are deserving of a regional because it is about a body of work. I think we deserve to be in a regional and we would do well with that opportunity."

The NCAA will release one more set of region rankings on Wednesday, before the final rankings come out on Sunday May 11 at 10:30 p.m. For updates over the next week, check cneagles.com as well as Carson-Newman Athletics on social media.