Albany State opens with 9-4 win over Georgia College

ALBANY — On a picture-perfect Tuesday afternoon, Albany State baseball opened its season in a way that felt both new and comfortably familiar.

With last weekend’s deep freeze finally gone and the sun settling in at 63 degrees, the Albany State University Golden Rams took the field at ASU West and delivered a 9-4 victory over Georgia College, a season opener powered by 17 hits, timely power, and a distinct Terrell Academy imprint.

In a lineup full of fresh faces, three of the most important belonged to players who once wore the same high school uniform just down the road.

Quindon Wright set the tone on the mound. Luke Addison and David Kile helped carry it at the plate. All three are Terrell Academy products, and all three played central roles in Albany State’s opening act.

The Golden Rams collected five extra-base hits — doubles by Isaiah Haygood, Addison, Ty Grover and Kile, plus a two-run home run from catcher Tyler Turner — and never trailed after pushing across three runs in the second inning.

After stranding the bases loaded in the first, Albany State broke through when Kile doubled to center to score Grover. Kile then came home on Haygood’s single, and Aiden Payne — an outfielder who transferred from Georgia College — grounded out to first to score Perry Usher and make it 3-0.

The lead grew quickly in the third. Addison opened the inning with a single to left, and Turner followed by launching a two-run homer that stretched the advantage to 5-0 and set an early tone for an offense that stayed aggressive without pressing.

Georgia College chased Wright from the mound in the fifth, scoring two runs, but the Golden Rams answered with the kind of composure that often shows up later in the season. Addison scored in the seventh on a David Cooper single to right-center, and Albany State broke the game open in the eighth. Emory Stephens drove in a run, and Cooper followed with a two-run single.

Wright earned the win in his first start of the year, working 4⅔ innings and allowing just two hits with no runs, five strikeouts and one walk. Five relievers followed, including key appearances from Jeremiah Reddell and Chip Cooper, as Albany State pieced together the final outs.

At the plate, Addison, Haygood and Cooper each finished with three hits, with Cooper driving in three runs.

For all the new names in the dugout, the afternoon carried a familiar local feel. Wright, Addison and Kile once played in Dawson with Coach Ashley Walker at Terrell Academy, and Tuesday’s opener — now under the Golden Rams banner.

“I thought it was a good start to the season,” Albany State coach Scot Hemmings said. “Quindon was really good on the mound, and I was proud of our hitters for sticking with their plan. They didn’t start pressing, even when they lined out a few times. It was good to see Jeremiah Reddell back on the mound and Chip Cooper back on the field. Andrew Keown is a freshman who came into a tight jam and looked like a senior. Overall, we did a lot of good things, but our small-ball game has to improve, and we had too many three-ball counts on the mound. We need to fix some things quickly because we have a tough stretch coming up.”

That stretch starts immediately.

Albany State will spend the weekend in Livingston, Alabama, with games against West Alabama and Augusta University before returning home Feb. 14 to host Kentucky State.