Albany State baseball headed to historic Rickwood Field to face Miles College

ALBANY – With the postseason race heating up, the Albany State Golden Rams are looking to hit their stride this weekend in a pivotal SIAC series against rival Miles College near Birmingham.

Albany State (19-18, 14-10 SIAC) trails Miles (18-17, 13-9 SIAC) by just one game in the conference standings. The teams will meet for a three-game set beginning with a doubleheader Friday at historic Rickwood Field. Game one is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST, followed by the series finale on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST.

Head Coach Scot Hemmings believes his team is close to putting it all together.

“We are very excited about the weekend set after the way we played on Saturday,” Hemmings said. “We’ve cleaned up some defensive miscues, and it was nice to finally close out a close game with Tyler Bullock getting the save in game three.”

Last weekend, Miles dropped two of three games to Edward Waters in Jacksonville, giving Albany State a chance to climb the standings with a strong series.

Offensively, the Golden Rams are showing signs of life. Several hitters stung the ball last weekend, even if the hits didn’t always fall in.

“We still need a few guys to get going in the lineup,” Hemmings said. “But I was really proud of our team baseball mentality on Saturday and hope the selfless at-bats will continue this weekend.”

Rickwood Field, the oldest professional ballpark in the country, recently underwent a multi-million dollar renovation. It hosted a Major League Baseball game last spring, adding extra excitement to an already crucial series.

“It should be a great weekend,” Hemmings said. “There’s so much history at Rickwood, and it’s exciting to play on the same field where so many great players have gone before us.”

The Golden Rams bring a potent lineup to Birmingham. Third baseman Austin Roberts leads the team with a .374 batting average. Luke Addison has powered the offense with seven home runs and 39 RBIs. Other consistent bats include Hill Corley, Tyler Turner, Emory Stephens, and Matt Delay—all batting over .300.

On the mound, Gercal Reyes (3-0, 3.63 ERA) and Landon Kiefer (7-1, 3.69 ERA) have been the most reliable starters. Calvin Baker (3.57 ERA) has earned three saves and continues to be a key option out of the bullpen.

Following the series with Miles, Albany State will return home to face Kentucky State in a three-game series beginning April 18 at the ASU West.