Seventh-inning surge gets C-N past Cedarville
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (3-0) overcame six unanswered runs from Cedarville (1-2) by scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally for an 8-6 win on Friday afternoon at Lakeway Christian Academy.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 2 |
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4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | X | 8 | 7 | 1 |
VIDEO: Maddox Greene Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (3-0) overcame six unanswered runs from Cedarville (1-2) by scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally for an 8-6 win on Friday afternoon at Lakeway Christian Academy.
"Very fortunate to Chuck Hargess and Lakeway," Carson-Newman head coach Tom Griffin said. "They have been great to allow us to come here today. We really appreciate Chuck and Lakeway. Cedarville did a great job with their pitching and some big this to get back into it. You always want tests this early in the year. Those are moments you want for your club to learn and we were able to show resiliency."
Logan Floyd continues his fantastic start to the 2026 season. The junior recorded three hits, his third straight multi-hit effort to start the year to go along with a three RBI day as well. He now has 43 career multi-hit and 25 career multi-RBI games. His on-base streak also extends to 38 straight games.
"Logan has always had great hand-eye coordination," Griffin said. "He's now learned to be more selective. He can hit almost every pitch and so sometimes he would go outside the strike zone. Really good hitters wait for their pitch to come and when they get their pitch, they don't miss it very often. He is getting his swing off on pitches he likes."
Carson-Newman fired the first punch of the game in the first. The first two batters reached to set the stage for Logan Floyd. The junior crushed a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall for his first home run of the season to put the Eagles ahead 3-0 early.
LOGIE BOMB
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 6, 2026
FIRST BLAST OF THE YEAR FOR @Logan_Floyd11
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The strong first inning would continue. Cole Nathan (Knoxville, Tenn.) walked and Bradley Soto Diaz singled him to third with nobody out. The Eagles would score just one run in the situation on a Tanner Kilgore (Kingsport, Tenn.) sacrifice fly to make it 4-0 after one inning.
Over the next three innings, Cedarville would work to tie the game. Max Doepker hammered a solo home run to center field to make it a 4-1 game after two innings.
More two-out damage was done by CU in the third inning. Eli Henderson singled in a run with two outs and it was a two-run game.
Doepker would tie the game in the fourth, launching his second home run of the game to level things after four innings. Doepker is the first opposing hitter to have a multi-home run day versus the Eagles since Brock Butler's two homer day for Alabama Huntsville last April.
Carson-Newman was unable to retake the lead in the fourth and fifth innings despite getting multiple runners on base in both frames.
The Yellow Jackets threatened to take the lead in the sixth. But with runners at first and second, relief pitcher Bransen Angel got Cooper Martin to ground into a 6-3 double play to keep the score level.
Cedarville would break the tie in the top of the seventh inning. Carson-Newman pitching walked four in the inning, two of which came with the bases loaded and the Yellow Jackets led 6-4.
The Eagles would have a much-needed answer. A hit by pitch and walk started the bottom of the seventh. Nathan took advantage of the situation, ripping a RBI ground-rule double over the left-center field wall to make it a one-run game.
After back-to-back punchouts, it appeared that Cedarville would find a way out of the inning. But, Johno Pierce drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases with two outs. On the sixth pitch of the next at bat, freshman Maddox Greene (Watuga, N.C.) delivered his first career hit, a three-run single to right-center field to put the Eagles ahead 8-6 after seven innings.
Bases loaded. Two out. What a time for your first career rip @MaddoxGreene
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 6, 2026
EAGLES LEAD
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Cedarville's final threat came in the ninth inning. Back-to-back singles put runners on first and second to start the inning. Reliever Brock Culpepper (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) dug in and worked out of the jam. A failed bunt attempted led to a strikeout, and then Culpepper forced the next two hitters into ground ball outs to seal the win.
Culpepper earned the win by recording the final seven outs, allowing three hits while striking out two. It's the senior's fourth career victory.
4⃣3⃣rd career multi-hit game and
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 6, 2026
2⃣5⃣th career multi-RBI for @Logan_Floyd11
Clutch first career hit for @MaddoxGreene
4⃣th career win for @brock_culpepper
C-N takes game one of the series with Cedarville☑️@CNBaseball x #TalonsUp x @divIIbaseball pic.twitter.com/09WoXbJTSQ
Ryan Higgins (Spotsylvania, Va.) took the no-decision, firing five innings of four-run ball with three strikeouts.
Bradley Soto Diaz posted his first career multi-hit game in the Orange and Blue, tallying two hits. Maddox Greene reached base in four of his five plate appearances, most on the club.
Brody Adams suffered the loss for CU. He was responsible for all four runs that scored in C-N's four-run seventh frame. On the offensive side, the Yellow Jackets had four guys finish with two hits to help out hit C-N 11-7.
The series continues tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at noon from the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex. The game can be heard on cneagles.com/live with live video available on the Eagle Sports Network with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/floBase. Fans can also watch the radio crew at work with a feed of press row on YouTube
