Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 The Crimson Pride opened their 2026 baseball season with a pair of doubleheaders at Toccoa Falls on Thursday and Friday. They held the lead in both games on Thursday, only to lose them in walkoff fashion. On Friday they split the doubleheader to finish the weekend 1-3.

Thursday, January 29

Game 1
IUC came out swinging in the top of the first with 3 runs. Cyrus Robinson doubled to lead things off and Trey VanMeter singled to score Robinson. After a walk to Garrett Thurman, Blake Borkhardt doubled home both runners to take an early 3-0 lead. They added a run in the 5th to push the lead to 4-0. Senior righthander Riley Mertl got the opening day start and didn't disappoint by throwing 5 shutout innings. After a pair of walks to start the 6th he was replaced by freshman lefthander Carter Ruiz. Toccoa Falls scored with one out on a hit-by-pitch, forcing in a run to make it 4-1. They added another run  to make it 4-2 going into the 7th. In the bottom of the 7th the Screaming Eagles worked a pair of walks around a strikeout. Third baseman Branson Dykes then hit a 3-run homer to walk it off for the home team.

Game 2
The second game featured a bunch of runs, with Toccoa Falls leading 9-6 after 4 innings. The Crimson Pride came back to take the lead 11-9 going into the bottom of the 7th. The home team rallied in the bottom of the 7th once again, scoring 2 runs on a double by Ryan McCarron , and Peyton Powell followed with an RBI single to win it for the Screaming Eagles. Senior Brett Poindexter had a single and a double to lead the Crimson Pride offense.
 
Friday, January 30
 
Game 1
Friday's first game was another high scoring affair, with the Screaming Eagles leading 10-4 after 4 innings. IUC battled back with 1 run in the 5th and 3 more in the 6th to make it 10-8, but that was where it ended.

Game 2 
The Crimson Pride offense was still rolling in the final game of the series as they belted out 15 hits to secure their first win of the season. Zane Smith and Lane Zohrlaut combined to limit Toccoa Falls to 3 runs on 3 hits, and IUC pounded the Screaming Eagles 14-3.

Leading hitters
Blake Borkhardt   7-11  3 doubles  9 RBIs 3 runs scored
Cyrus Robinson   8-16  1 double    6 RBIs 6 runs scored
Garrett Thurman  4-11
Trey VanMeter     3-9  1 HR  4 runs scored

Coach Zach McClellan: "It was our first time being outside all year, and the guys made a lot of good things happen. We scored more runs and had more hits than they had. We had some good pitching and made some good plays on defense. Even after a couple of tough losses on Thursday our team battled all the way to the end. I'm proud of the effort we showed. We aren't happy being 1-3, but I believe we can learn from this first weekend and good things are ahead."

Next on the schedule
IUC will travel to Columbia, Kentucky to play Lindsey Wilson College for 3 games - a single game on Friday and a DH on Saturday
Riley Mertl will get the starting nod on the mound in the opener