Albany State softball starts SIAC Tournament off with a win

ALBANY — Albany State’s softball team will settle for nothing less than a championship during this week’s SIAC Tournament after a disappointing finish last season.

The Golden Rams opened the tournament Thursday at the Gordon Sports Complex with a 3-1 win over Lane. They advance to face Miles College at noon on Friday.

ASU and Lane were scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when the Rams capitalized off a Lane error on a throw to first on a Kayla Alexander grounder, with the Rams scoring on the play. From there, ASU loaded the bases up and scored on an Aryn McGowan walk and Lavette Tucker base hit.

While the three runs scored on six hits was enough to win, head coach Amber Barker wasn’t thrilled with her team’s offensive production.

“We just weren’t making adjustments,” she said. “It took us the whole game to feel (the Lane pitcher) out, and we didn’t really do that. (Friday) we’ve got to do a better just at making adjustments against whoever we face at the first pitch.”

McGowan pitched all seven innings, giving up eight hits and one run while striking out seven. Defensively, Albany State had just one error, but Barker said they weren’t as relaxed to start.

“We were just playing too tight,” she said. “We weren’t loose, we weren’t relaxed, and we weren’t taking care of the ball right away.”

Miles defeated Benedict 13-4 on Thursday. Friday will be the first time the two teams meet this season, and Barker said it should be a good one.

“Just like every team out here, they’re going to be a good team,” she said. “They’re going to bring their best and so are we, so it’s going to be a good game.”

Earlier Thursday, Tuskegee and Claflin engaged in a tight battle that took 11 innings to decide. Tuskegee came out with a 3-1 win to advance. Also, Kentucky State edged Clark Atlanta 8-7.

Friday’s action at the Gordon Sports Complex begins at 10 a.m., with Claflin taking on Clark Atlanta in one elimination game and Benedict facing Lane in another elimination contest. Tuskegee and Kentucky State face off in a winners’ bracket game opposite ASU-Miles at noon, with two more rounds of games taking place at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

The championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday.