Albany State baseball completes sweep of LeMoyne Owen

ALBANY — The Albany State baseball team jumped out to a large lead on Sunday afternoon. However, it had to defend a major rally by the visitors to escape with a win.

ASU was able to hold off LeMoyne-Owen and complete a sweep of the three-game series with an 11-9 victory.

With the win, the Rams improved to 4-15 overall and 3-0 in the SIAC. The Magicians fell to 1-13, 0-3.

Albany State opened the game by scoring three runs in the first inning. Jonatan Galan’s single scored Nic Griggs for a 1-0 lead. Theo Smith added a single to score Ryan McClendon, while Galan scored on a balk to make the score 3-0.

In the second inning, the Rams increased their lead. Kelvin Wimbish scored off an error, while McClendon’s single scored Griggs to give the home team a 5-0 edge.

LeMoyne-Owen recorded its first run in the top of the fourth inning, but ASU answered in the bottom of the inning. McClendon belted a triple and scored Jeremy Arrington for a 6-1 advantage.

In the fifth inning, Albany State was able to increase its lead. A single by Wimbish and triple by Chasen Roulhac scored Robbie Feagans and Wimbish, respectively, for an 8-1 lead. Roulhac later scored on an error to put the Rams ahead 9-1.

The Magicians began a comeback in the seventh inning as LeMoyne Owen scored four runs to make it 9-5. ASU answered with a solo run in the bottom of the inning. Griggs’ RBI single scored Wimbish and Albany State led 10-5.

After LeMoyne-Owen scored another run in the top of the eighth, the Rams scored their final run. Feagans’ double to center field scored Terrance Worthy and gave ASU an 11-6 lead.

The Magicians scored three more runs in the top of the ninth inning, but Albany State was able to hold them off to secure the win.

Smith and Feagans each went 2-for-4 from the plate, while McClendon had two hits and two RBIs. Wimbish was 2-for-3, and Griggs added two RBIs. Calvin Tatum was the winning pitcher.

The Rams collected 13 hits, three errors and left 10 runners on base.

Albany State will travel to Columbus on Wednesday for a rematch with Columbus State University. The Cougars won the March 15 contest 8-2. Game time is slated for 5 p.m.