Albany State’s initial South Regional opponent a familiar one

ALBANY — Albany State’s baseball team will face some strong competition when it heads to Lakeland, Florida, this week for its NCAA Division II South Regional.

The first opponent, however, will be one that is familiar to Albany State, one that Albany State (28-16) had some success against earlier this season.

The Golden Rams’ first opponent Thursday will be Tampa, a team Albany State beat in two out of three games played March 9-10 in Albany. ASU beat Tampa’s No. 2 and No. 4 starters that weekend, losing only the series opener to Tampa staff ace David Lebron. Riliani Familia, the Rams’ offensive leader, had a grand slam and six RBI during that series.

Tampa (39-9) got hot after dropping the Albany State series, winning 16 straight and claiming the Sunshine State Conference title. The Spartans are the South Regional’s No. 2 seed, while Albany State is the No. 7 seed in the seven-team bracket.

“My initial thought was, that’s one extremely tough region,” ASU head coach Scot Hemmings said after the bracket was revealed late Sunday night. “Some of the best teams in the country will be there.”

Florida Southern (39-9-1) earned the South Region’s top seed and hosting rights after winning 2-of-3 from Tampa in a regular season series played last weekend. The Mocs will have a first-round bye.

Tampa and Albany State play at 3 p.m. on Thursday. No. 3 seed Delta State (40-9) and No. 6 seed Mississippi College (33-15) open the regional at 11 a.m., while No. 4 Nova Southeastern (34-14) and No. 5 Montevallo (35-17) play at 7 p.m.

The regional takes place at Henley Field, which opened in 1923 and was used as a major league spring training facility until Joker Marchant Stadium opened in 1966.

Making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance, Albany State has won nine straight and 12 of its past 13 games, including four straight in the SIAC Tournament.

The Rams scored at least eight runs in each of the 12 victories, averaging 11.2 runs per game during that stretch.

Albany State went 9-12 in non-conference play.

“Our goal was to compete at the regional level,” Hemmings said. “We took care of things by winning the conference, and now we have that opportunity.”

The Albany State-Tampa and Mississippi College-Delta State games are paired in the double-elimination bracket. The losers meet in an 11 a.m. elimination game Friday, while the winners face off at 7 p.m. on Friday. The championship game is scheduled for noon on Monday.

Weather is expected to be an issue in Lakeland throughout the tournament because of a tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico. According to weather.com, there is an 80 percent chance of thunderstorms every tournament day, with a 100 percent chance listed for Thursday.

The team that emerges from the South Regional heads to the national championship tournament, scheduled for May 26-June 2 in Cary, North Carolina.