Hot bats, late push help C-N claim series-opening win over Newberry
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (18-12, 9-10 SAC) won its third straight series opener in South Atlantic Conference by scoring four eighth inning runs to win 11-7 over Newberry (19-13, 13-6 SAC) on Friday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 1 |
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0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | X | 11 | 15 | 2 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (18-12, 9-10 SAC) won its third straight series opener in South Atlantic Conference by scoring four eighth inning runs to win 11-7 over Newberry (19-13, 13-6 SAC) on Friday afternoon at the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex.
"That club (Newberry) is really good," Carson-Newman head coach Tom Griffin said. "I love what Coach (Jay) Snyder and his staff do. We knew they were coming back, that is their mindset. You can't do this with any team but especially them is give them freebies that we did. We knew it was going to be tough, but the key today was Kyle Adams. The ability to come in and extend, more than he ever has. That was tremendous and what a lift he was for us. Really happy for Aiden Gibson as well, on two occasions he had two-strike base hits."
The Eagles posted their seventh double-digit hitting performance in the last eight games with 15, and all nine starters had a base knock and scored a run.
Aiden Gibson led Carson-Newman's offensive day, matching his season and career-high with four hits and four RBI. The senior reached base in all five of his plate appearances.
"This year has been up and down for me," Gibson said. "It's been like a roller coaster but each day I'm working and trying to figure out what is working for me that day. Today was all about rhythm. All I did differently was add a little movement in my front half and then just wanted to do damage and be on time with the baseball. That's what worked for me today."
Carson-Newman took the game's first lead in the second inning. The Eagles recorded five consecutive singles to score three times in the inning. Colton Evans and Logan Floyd drove in the runs to give C-N a three-run cushion after two frames.
Newberry countered with a three-run third. After a leadoff walk, Aiden Gibson's (Cleveland, Tenn.) tried to start a double play but his throw ended up in right field and scored Newberry's first run of the game. The next batter tied the game. Keillor Osborn launched a 1-0 pitch over the left center wall to level the score at three.
The Wolves took their only lead of the game in the fifth. With two outs, Josh Bandy doubled into the left center gap them a 4-3 lead.
Carson-Newman would not let Newberry's lead last for long. Sebastian Rodriguez (Greensboro N.C.) ripped a double down the right field line, scoring Bradley Soto Diaz (Davenport, Fla.) to tie the game. After a Braxton Smith (Cleveland, Tenn.) bunt single, Carson Cochran (Franklin, Tenn.) singled through the left side to put the Eagles back in front. The lead extended with two outs. The first of two Gibson two-run doubles closed a four-run fifth inning that pushed C-N in front by three runs again.
The next three runs were scored by Newberry in the sixth and seventh innings. A two-out single and a wild pitch scored a pair in the six for the Wolves. They would tie the game in the seventh with another two-out single.
Kyle Adams (Gordonsville, Tenn.) limited the damage in the seventh. With the bases loaded and two outs, the redshirt-freshman recorded a three-pitch punchout of Osborn to keep the game tied at seven after seven innings.
With one swing, the Eagles jumped back in front in the eighth inning. On a 1-1 pitch, Floyd clobbered a ball 422 feet over the left field wall to make it a 9-7 game.
THAT BALL HAD A FAMILY
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 27, 2026
99 MPH off @Logan_Floyd11's bat. 422 feet to left for the lead
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Much appreciated insurance runs were scored with two outs in the frame. Gibson's fourth hit was his second two-run, two-out double to give the Eagles an 11-7 lead to work with heading to the ninth.
That Gibson two-run double was valuable because Newberry got its first two runners to reach in the ninth. Adams bared down and retired three straight hitters to finish off his first career win.
The right-hander tossed the final 2 1/3 scoreless innings with a career-high three strikeouts.
BOOK IT. BALLGAME
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 27, 2026
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FINAL
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Floyd posted a four RBI day on a pair of hits, while Rodriguez and Cochran also had multi-hit days in the victory. All 11 of C-N's runs scored in three innings, a three-run third and four-run fifth and eighth innings.
Newberry's starter Jacob Clark allowed a season-high ten hits and a season-high seven runs in just 4 2/3 innings of work. Anthony Plotkin suffered his first loss of the year, allowing the go-ahead home run in the eighth inning.
The series continues and concludes tomorrow afternoon at noon. A video stream of the weekend series is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/flobase. The game can be heard on cneagles.com/live. Fans can also watch the radio crew at work with a feed of press row on YouTube.
