No. 4 seed Albany State to face Miles College in SIAC tournament

ALBANY — The Albany State Golden Rams (26-20) have earned the No. 4 seed in the SIAC Championship Tournament and will open play against Miles College (23-23-1) on Thursday night at historic Luther Williams Field in Macon. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

If the Golden Rams defeat Miles, they will likely face top-seeded Spring Hill College on Friday at 3 p.m.

“I think our experience will be a positive for us,” said Albany State Head Coach Scott Hemmings on Tuesday. “We have several guys who have played in this tournament two or three times.

“It’s like I tell my son about every game we watch together. When he asks who I think will win, I tell him: 1. If our best players play better than their best players, we will win. And 2. Whoever stays away from the big inning caused by free passes and mistakes will have the edge.”

Albany State swept Miles College in a three-game series earlier this season, one of their most dominant weekends. The Golden Rams outscored the Golden Bears 31-6 in those games, backed by stellar pitching performances from Gercal Reyes, Brady Davis and Landon Kiefer.

Former Lee County standout Hill Corley leads the team with a .366 batting average, just ahead of Austin Roberts, who is hitting .362. Former Terrell Academy star Luke Addison powers the offense with a team-high 10 home runs and 61 RBIs.

On the mound, Kiefer leads the pitching staff with a 9-1 record, 88 strikeouts, and a team-best 3.20 ERA. Reyes remains unbeaten at 6-0 with a 3.60 ERA.

“We are excited to play Thursday and are looking forward to just going and playing, rather than also having to host the tournament,” Hemmings said. “I feel good about how we’ve played the last three weeks, but it will be a tough battle because any of the eight teams can win it.

“It would be nice to win it, but it also takes a few breaks. I’m extremely excited to get out there and compete one last time with this group of seniors.”

The double-elimination tournament begins Thursday at 9 a.m. with No. 3 Savannah State facing No. 6 Benedict College. At noon, No. 2 Edward Waters takes on No. 7 Tuskegee, followed by No. 1 Spring Hill College vs. No. 8 Lane.