Albany State baseball wins first game of season

AMERICUS — The Albany State baseball team has watched games get away.

But Tuesday afternoon, ASU was able to find the winner’s circle for its first victory of the season.

The Rams battled with Georgia Southwestern, but they eventually walked away with a 10-7 triumph after 10 innings. Georgia Southwestern dropped to 7-12.

Albany State took an early lead on its way to victory. In the first inning, Ryan McClendon’s RBI single scored Nic Griggs for a 1-0 edge. A Griggs’ single in the second inning scored Theo Smith home and the Rams led 2-0.

After the Hurricanes scored a run in the third, ASU answered in the top of the fourth and fifth innings. Smith scored in the fourth off a passed ball to give Albany State a 3-1 advantage.

The Rams added two more runs in the fifth inning. Jeremy Arrington singled to center field to score Bryant Prather, and Smith added a single to right field that sent Arrington home for a 5-1 lead.

However, GSW scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game.

Georgia Southwestern took the lead at 6-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning with a run, but Albany State rallied in the top of the ninth. Smith singled to score Arrington and Prather for a 7-6 edge. The Hurricanes scored a run in the bottom of the inning to force extra innings.

In the 10th, Prather singled to left field to score Griggs and Peter Setterich, and Griggs went home off Kelvin Wimbish’s single to give ASU the win.

Smith and McClendon each recorded three hits, while Prather added two hits and two RBIs. Chasen Roulhac was the winning pitcher.

The Rams collected 14 hits, committed six errors and left 11 runners on base.

Albany State will return to action on Wednesday when it travels to Carrollton, Ga. to face the University of West Georgia. Game time is slated for 4 p.m.