SPORTS BRIEFS: Albany State wins SIAC golf title

Rams win SIAC golf title

Tyler Hanson claimed medalist honors by 11 shots as Albany State won the SIAC golf championship Wednesday, claiming the title of the 54-hole tournament at Flat Creek Golf Course in Peachtree City by 22 shots over second-place Miles.

Hanson shot rounds of 74, 73 and 79 to finish at 10-over-par 226. He led by 12 shots heading into the final round.

Albany State, which has won the SIAC title in both years the university has had a program, set the pace early in the tournament, shooting a first-round 320 to take a nine-shot edge. The Rams finished with back-to-back 329 rounds, besting the rest of the field in each round.

Miles finished second at 1,000, followed by Benedict (1,005) and Morehouse (1,030).

Pongsakorn Booranakunamanee finished tied for seventh at 33-over 249, while Andrew Widjaja finished ninth at 34-over 250. Karit Kitipongpatana finished 18th at 43-over 259.

ASU, Auburn-Montgomery split

Albany State and Auburn-Montgomery split a doubleheader Wednesday, with Albany State winning the opener 4-1 and losing the second game 10-0.

Aryn McGowan struck out seven and walked three, scattering three hits, in the Game 1 win. All four of Albany State’s hits were home runs, hit by Danielle Turner, Lavette Tucker, McGowan and Megan Shepherd.

Albany State (22-20) had eight hits but could not score in the Game 2 loss. Tucker went 3-for-3, while Jala Stewart and Mikyah Harris each went 2-for-3. Lauren Lowery took the loss.

Thomasville defeats Pelham

The Thomasville baseball team beat Pelham 11-3 on Wednesday.

Thomasville scored five runs in the fourth inning and four more in the sixth. Zeb Maxwell went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI for the Bulldogs. Dalton Dollar was the winning pitcher.

Doug Curles went 2-for-3 with a run scored for Pelham. Cale Whigham took the loss.

Freeman day-to-day after HBP

Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman is day-to-day with a wrist contusion, and X-rays were negative after he was hit by a pitch Wednesday.

Freeman was drilled on the left wrist in nearly the exact spot he was plunked in 2017. Last year, he went to the disabled list with a fractured wrist, missing 44 games, and the Braves suspected another DL stint following an eerily similar shot to the area.

On Thursday, the Braves declared Freeman day-to-day and revealed there was no break detected.

With the Braves leading 4-2 in the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night, Freeman was hit by a 2-2 pitch. He calmly walked directly to the dugout, removed his helmet and went down the steps and into the clubhouse.

The Braves won 7-3, with Ryan Flaherty hitting a three-run homer.

Reds fire manager

The Cincinnati Reds fired manager Bryan Price after a 3-15 start to the 2018 season.

Price will be replaced on an interim basis by bench coach Jim Riggleman. Pitching coach Mack Jenkins was also let go on Thursday.

Cincinnati, nine games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Central, is not currently searching for a permanent replacement for Price. In a statement, the team said a search will be conducted later this year.

Price was in his fifth season with the Reds but never posted a winning season. Overall, he was 279-387.

Pat Kelly, the manager of the Reds’ Triple-A Louisville team, was promoted to bench coach of the Reds and another former big-leaguer, Danny Darwin, will join the coaching staff from Double-A.