SMC Wins Opening Round Matchup at CAC Tournament, 13-3

Lawrenceville, Ga. – No. 2-seeded Spartanburg Methodist College secured its first postseason victory in NAIA play with a dominant 13–3, eight-inning win over Florida National on Friday night.

Despite a weather delay pushing back the first pitch, the Pioneers came out swinging, tallying 14 hits and taking advantage of eight Florida National errors. The offensive fireworks gave ample support to the SMC pitching staff, led by Travis Dannecker and Cole Montgomery.

Dannecker, who was named First Team All-CAC earlier in the day, turned in a strong outing. The right-hander went 6.1 innings, allowing eight hits and three earned runs while striking out six to improve his record to 6–2.

Every batter in the SMC lineup recorded a hit. Matt Smith paced the attack with three hits, while Leo Lopez, Dario Astudillo, and Blake Exizian each collected a pair. Jarian Pinckney—recently honored as the CAC Newcomer of the Year—and Astudillo both drove in three runs to lead the charge.

The scoring started in the second inning when Exizian delivered an RBI single. SMC added three runs in the third to jump ahead 4–0. Florida National briefly cut the lead to 4–2 in the fourth, but the Pioneers responded with a five-run fifth inning to regain control. They tacked on two runs apiece in the seventh and eighth to end the game via the run rule.

With the win, Spartanburg Methodist advances to face host and No. 1 seed Georgia Gwinnett on Saturday at 10 a.m. Weather continues to impact the tournament schedule.