It was Daniel's walkoff grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning that brought the game to an end, via the GHSA mercy rule, and gave the Purple Hurricanes a 14-1 win over Ridgeland at Richard Bell Field.
"Luke Daniel was pretty much the story for us," Cartersville assistant coach Kyle Tucker said of the Canes' right fielder, who is among a list of Cartersville players capable of such a day.
"You feel good when you have more than one guy that can have a day like that," Tucker added.
Daniel went 3 for 3 with six RBIs and three runs for the Canes. Harris Battle added two doubles and Ben Venters also had two hits. Eight of nine starters had at least one hit for the team.
Cartersville scored a couple of runs in the first inning and four in the second before the Panthers put up their first run in the third.
The Canes led 9-1 after scoring three runs in the fourth and tallied five more in the game's final inning.
Cartersville head coach Stuart Chester credited a good start for the team's latest win.
"We go out and get things started on a positive note with Kendall [Hawkins]. He threw the ball real well," Chester said of the Canes' starting pitcher, who also scored a run. "It just added from there. We had a good approach at the plate. [Our] pitchers threw strikes.
"It was a good day."
Hawkins went five innings, giving up one earned run on two hits and three walks. He finished with seven strikeouts. Teigh Dooley pitched the sixth inning for Cartersville, getting one strikeout in a three-up-, three-down performance.
Monday's win began a stretch where the Canes face five teams in six days. Cartersville will look to keep its momentum going.
"We gotta do all the little things right. We cannot go out and make errors and give the other team extra outs," Chester said.
Next up for the Canes is Northside-Columbus, who is led by a friend of Chester's in David Smart. Cartersville had been scheduled to open the season at home Feb. 25 vs. the Class AAAA Patriots but pushed the game back to show support for the school's girls basketball team, which was hosting the first game of its eventual run to the state quarterfinals.
With both teams in the midst of their respective Region 7-AAA and Region 1-AAAA schedules, the game could come down to endurance, the Canes coach said.
"We're both in the middle of region [play] so it'll probably be a question of who can last the longest," Chester said. "I know they're very good."
Northside finished last season 23-10 (9-3 Region 2-AAA), but has gotten off to a rough start thus far this year -- 3-10, 1-4 -- in a higher classification.
Wednesday's game with the Patriots begins at 5 p.m. at Cartersville's Richard Bell Field.
After its game with Northside, the Canes (10-2, 10-0) play at Dalton Thursday, at Southeast Whitfield Friday and vs. Allatoona Saturday.