SWEEP: Albany State takes three games from Miles at Rickwood Field

BIRMINGHAM – Maybe the Golden Rams have finally hit their stride. Albany State’s baseball team looked sharp all weekend, sweeping a three-game SIAC series against Miles College at historic Rickwood Field. The Rams rolled to victories of 10-4, 6-2, and capped it off with a dominant 15-0 shutout.

“I hope we’re finally seeing how tough we can be when we play within our system,” Head Coach Scot Hemmings said Saturday night. “We pitched outstanding this weekend. It’s a lot easier to win when you only give up four earned runs all weekend. Gercal Reyes and Calvin Baker were outstanding Friday night, and today we got the old Brady [Davis] back, along with Gavin McBride. In game three, Landon Kiefer was as good as I’ve ever seen him.”

The weekend began with a bang—literally. Centerfielder Matt Delay launched a leadoff home run over the center field fence in the very first at-bat of the series. Miles answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, but Albany State quickly seized control with a five-run third and two more in the fourth.

The third-inning rally started when Nate Saavedra was hit by a pitch. Xander Little followed with a single, and Delay drew a walk to load the bases. Austin Roberts walked to bring in a run, and former Terrell Academy standout Luke Addison ripped a two-run double to left. Hill Corley added a sacrifice fly, and Emory Stephens capped the inning with a bunt single to score Addison.

The Golden Rams finished game one with 13 hits, including doubles from Addison, Corley, and Stephens. Reyes handled the bulk of the pitching, going seven innings while allowing four runs on six hits, walking one, and striking out six. Baker closed it out with two scoreless innings, striking out three and allowing just one hit.

Game two started with a hiccup as Miles took a 2-0 lead in the third, but Albany State responded in the fourth. Stephens doubled to left to bring in Corley, and in the sixth, Delay grounded into a double play that scored a run and tied the game. Roberts followed with a single to put the Rams ahead 3-2.

Albany State padded its lead in the seventh when Saavedra delivered a two-run double and then came home on a Miles error, completing a three-run inning. Davis pitched four solid innings, giving up two runs on five hits, before McBride came in and shut the door. McBride tossed the final five innings, giving up just two hits and striking out seven.

After a quiet opening frame in game three, Albany State exploded for 11 runs across the second and third innings and cruised to a 15-0 win behind Kiefer’s best outing of the season. The left-hander was dominant, going six innings and giving up just two hits while striking out 10.

At the plate, the Rams racked up 15 hits. Addison and Tyler Turner each collected three, and Addison finished with five RBIs. Corley added two more doubles to his weekend tally.

“The offense sputtered for two games, then the bats woke up in game three,” Hemmings said. “We’re still fighting to embrace the team baseball concept, but in game three, we played team baseball and scored 15 runs. I hope we can carry that into next week for Senior Day. This senior class has won a lot of games for us—it’s going to be an emotional weekend for a lot of us.”

The Golden Rams return home to host Kentucky State in a three-game series this weekend. Friday’s doubleheader begins at 3 p.m. at ASU West, with Saturday’s finale set for 11 a.m.